Systems and methods relating to an opportunity distribution engine and distribution simulation

ABSTRACT

Opportunity distribution systems and methods distribute business opportunities received from lead sources for routing to one or more destination businesses that will make use the opportunity, such as an opportunity to place a webpage advertisement on a webpage that is being served to a viewer. The system identifies a set of most profitable destinations for each opportunity, for each routing, while complying with business rules associated with the opportunity source and the destination businesses. System variables associated with the lead source and the destinations may be advantageously adjusted to maintain desired flow rate and quality levels of leads to each destination and to maximize profit to the system. A system administrator module and log of lead transactions allows the system to review previous performance and to carry out simulations in order to identify desired adjustments to system variables.

PRIORITY INFORMATION

This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e)of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/879,789, filed on Jan. 9, 2007and titled SYSTEMS AND METHODS RELATING TO A MULTIPLE LEAD DISTRIBUTIONENGINE AND LEAD DISTRIBUTION SIMULATION, the entirety of which isincorporated herein by reference.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

There are four co-pending and commonly owned U.S. patent applicationsall filed on even date herewith. These applications have the followingtitles, U.S. patent application Ser. No., Publications dates, and U.S.Publication numbers:

-   -   SYSTEMS AND METHODS RELATING TO A LEAD DISTRIBUTION ENGINE THAT        ACCOMMODATES INTERNAL AND IMPORTED DESTINATION RELATIONSHIPS,        U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/971,753, which published on        Aug. 21, 2008 as U.S. Publ. No. 2008/201,202 A1.    -   SYSTEMS AND METHODS RELATING TO A LEAD DISTRIBUTION ENGINE THAT        ACCOMMODATES INTERNAL AND IMPORTED DESTINATION EXCLUSION RULES,        U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/971,816, which published on        Aug. 21, 2008as U.S. Publ. No. 2008/201,184 A1.    -   SYSTEMS AND METHODS RELATING TO A LEAD DISTRIBUTION ENGINE THAT        USES MARGIN SCORES, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/971,809,        which published on Aug. 21, 2008as U.S. Publ. No. 2008/201,203        A1.    -   SYSTEMS AND METHODS RELATING TO A LEAD DISTRIBUTION ENGINE WITH        QUALITY ASSESSMENT OF LEAD SOURCES, U.S. patent application Ser.        No. 11/971,822, which published on Aug. 21, 2008as U.S. Publ.        No. 2008/201,204 A1.

All of the above referenced patent applications are hereby incorporatedby reference herein in their entireties.

FIELD

The present invention relates to the distribution of consumer leads tosuppliers of goods and services.

BACKGROUND

Consumer lead generation is a large and growing industry. The leadgeneration industry identifies consumers that may be interested inbuying products or services and sells contact information for thoseconsumers to suppliers of the products or services of interest. Thecontact information of the potentially interested consumer, togetherwith the specific product or service of interest to the consumer, isknown as a “lead.”

Suppliers of the products and/or services of interest buy leads becauseleads effectively identify consumers that are already interested in thesuppliers' products and services. Accordingly, leads often result in ahigher percentage of sales per contact than advertising, cold calling,or other forms of salesmanship. For this reason, product and servicesuppliers are willing to pay for leads from sources that are able toconsistently provide leads that result in a relatively high percentageof sales.

A lead distributor obtains leads directly from interested consumersand/or indirectly from other lead sources. When selling the leads, thelead distributor is confronted with a complex set of businessinterrelationships and complicated contractual agreements that limit thelead distributor's options for lead distribution. For example, someleads may not be sold to certain suppliers of the products and/orservices of interest. Other leads can be sold only a limited number oftimes.

SUMMARY

In view of the complexities of lead distribution, it would beadvantageous to provide a flexible and efficient system and method foridentifying a set of purchasers that maximizes the profitability on thesale of each lead and/or is otherwise desirable with regard to thebusiness considerations of the lead distributor.

The complex lead sales environment allows for selling a lead to one ormore suppliers that are identified on the basis of geographicalcloseness or on gross revenue, but hampers the ability to identifyadditional lead purchasers that conform to contractual agreements andother business requirements.

In accordance with the embodiments disclosed herein, theinterrelationships between lead generators, lead distributors and theultimate lead users are taken into account using a lead distributionengine that assists the lead distributor to maximize the profit from thesale of each lead to one or more lead purchasers.

Embodiments of a processor-implemented opportunity distribution engineare described. The opportunity distribution engine is configured topopulate a table with stored data about candidate businesses for abusiness opportunity available for purchase. The stored data includes aleast four different types of data values for each candidate business.The opportunity distribution engine is also configured to furtherpopulate the table with additional data values about the candidatebusinesses, such that the additional data values are derived, at leastin part, from the stored data values. The opportunity distributionengine is further configured to select, based at least in part on thedata values in the populated table, a set of one or more candidatebusinesses which may purchase the business opportunity.

Embodiments of a method for maintaining an opportunity distributionsystem are described. The method includes using tables, populated withstored data about businesses that are candidates for purchasingavailable business opportunities, in order to select a set of one ormore preferred candidate businesses that may purchase the businessopportunities, such that the stored data includes at least fivedifferent types of data for each candidate business. The method alsoincludes storing, for a selected time period, the data from thepopulated tables and the sets of one or more preferred candidatebusinesses. The method also includes using modified versions of thestored data to re-populate one or more of the tables in order to select,for each table, a simulated set of preferred candidate businesses. Themethod further includes comparing a business benefit accrued fromallowing the stored sets of preferred candidate businesses to purchasethe business opportunities with a simulated business benefit associatedwith allowing the simulated sets of preferred candidate businesses tosimulate purchasing the business opportunities. The method also includesmodifying the stored data, based at least in part on the comparison, sothat future selections of preferred candidate businesses result in abetter business benefit going forward.

Embodiments of a lead distribution engine are described. The leaddistribution engine includes a processor-readable storage medium thatcomprises information about lead sources, lead users, and leadintermediaries. The lead distribution engine also includes a lead sourceinterface module that accepts information from a lead source about abusiness lead being offered for sale by the lead source. The leaddistribution engine further includes a collection module configured toreceive information about lead users who are interested in purchasingthe business lead and about lead intermediaries who are interested inproviding the business lead to one or more of the lead users. Thecollection module is further configured to organize the information byidentifying pairs, each pair comprising a lead user and a leadintermediary who is interested in providing the business lead to thelead user. The lead distribution engine also includes a selection modulethat is configured to receive the information about the pairs from thecollection module, and to access, for each pair, a score from theprocessor-readable storage medium that is indicative of a level ofmonetary profit and business gain associated with sale of the businesslead to the pair. The selection module is further configured to identifya preferred subset of the pairs, such that each of the pairs in thesubset is associated with a desirable score and such that the lead usersfrom the pairs in the subset are different from one another.

Embodiments of a processor-implemented method for distributing abusiness opportunity available from a source are described. The methodincludes: partially populating a table with stored data valuesassociated with a set of candidate businesses for purchase of thebusiness opportunity; further populating the table with additional datavalues that are derived, at least in part, from the stored values; andselecting, based at least in part on the stored values and on thederived values, a set of one or more preferred candidate businesses forpurchasing the business opportunity.

Embodiments of a system for maintaining an opportunity distributionsystem are described. The system includes means for using tables,populated with stored data about businesses that are candidates forpurchasing available business opportunities, in order to select a set ofone or more preferred candidate businesses that may purchase thebusiness opportunities, such that the stored data includes at least fivedifferent types of data for each candidate business. The system includesmeans for storing, for a selected time period, the data from thepopulated tables and the sets of one or more preferred candidatebusinesses. The system also includes means for using modified versionsof the stored data to re-populate one or more of the tables in order toselect, for each table, a simulated set of preferred candidatebusinesses. The system also includes means for comparing a businessbenefit accrued from allowing the stored sets of preferred candidatebusinesses to purchase the business opportunities with a simulatedbusiness benefit associated with allowing the simulated sets ofpreferred candidate businesses to simulate purchasing the businessopportunities. The system also includes means for modifying the storeddata, based at least in part on the comparison, so that futureselections of preferred candidate businesses result in a better businessbenefit going forward.

Embodiments of a processor-implemented method are described for offeringan opportunity to place an advertisement on a webpage currently beingserved to a viewer. The method includes: partially populating a tablewith stored data values associated with a set of candidate businessesfor purchase of the webpage advertisement space; further populating thetable with additional data values that are derived, at least in part,from the stored values; and selecting, based at least in part on thestored values and on the derived values, a set of one or more preferredcandidate businesses for purchasing the webpage advertisement space.

For purposes of summarizing embodiments of the invention, certainaspects, advantages, and novel features of the invention have beendescribed herein. It is to be understood that not necessarily all suchaspects, advantages, or novel features will be embodied in anyparticular embodiment of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to thedrawings. The drawings and the associated descriptions are provided toillustrate embodiments of the invention and not to limit the scope ofthe invention. Throughout the drawings, reference numbers are re-used toindicate correspondence between referenced elements. In addition, thefirst digit of each reference number indicates the figure in which theelement first appears.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram that illustrates a general overview of oneembodiment of a multi lead distribution system.

FIG. 2A depicts one embodiment of a preliminary lead submission form.

FIG. 2B depicts one embodiment of a full lead submission form with alist of candidate suppliers to receive the lead.

FIG. 3A is a block diagram that illustrates in greater detail oneembodiment of a multi lead distribution system.

FIG. 3B, comprising FIG. 3B-1 and FIG. 3B-2, configured together asshown, is a block diagram that illustrates one embodiment of a logicalcomponent overview of a multi lead distribution system. FIGS. 3B-1 and3B-2 are referred to collectively in this Specification as “FIG. 3B ”.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram that illustrates a flow of data in associationwith one embodiment of a multi lead distribution system.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram that illustrates a sample set of relationshipsbetween a set of lead intermediaries and a set of suppliers.

FIG. 6A is a block diagram that illustrates a set of selectionconsiderations for one embodiment of a multi lead distribution system indetermining a preferred set of lead intermediary/supplier pairs to whomto distribute a lead.

FIG. 6B displays one embodiment of a set of formulae that mayadvantageously be used by a computer to identify a preferred set ofintermediary/supplier pairs for receiving a lead.

FIG. 7A is a flow chart that depicts one embodiment of a process foridentifying a preferred set of candidate intermediary/supplier pairs fora potential lead.

FIG. 7B is a flow chart that depicts a more detailed view of oneembodiment of a process for filtering a set of candidateintermediary/supplier pairs.

FIG. 7C is a flow chart that depicts one embodiment of a process foridentifying a preferred set of intermediary/supplier pairs for a lead.

FIG. 8A is a depiction of a database table with an initial list ofpotential lead intermediaries to whom a lead may be offered by oneembodiment of the multi lead distribution system.

FIG. 8B is a depiction of a database table with a list of potentialsuppliers to whom the lead may be offered by one embodiment of the multilead distribution system.

FIG. 8C is a depiction of the database table of FIG. 8B after oneembodiment of the multi lead distribution system has selected a firstsupplier to whom to offer the lead.

FIG. 8D is a depiction of the database table of FIG. 8C after oneembodiment of the multi lead distribution system has selected a secondsupplier to whom to offer the lead.

FIG. 8E is a depiction of the database table of FIG. 8D after oneembodiment of the multi lead distribution system has selected a thirdsupplier to whom to offer the lead.

FIG. 8F is a depiction of the database table of FIG. 8E after oneembodiment of the multi lead distribution system has selected a fourthsupplier to whom to offer the lead.

FIG. 9 is a screen shot that illustrates one embodiment of a controlconfiguration screen for managing embodiments of the multi leaddistribution system.

DESCRIPTION

Exemplary embodiments of a system and method for distribution of leadsor other commodities are described herein. FIG. 1 is a block diagramthat illustrates a general overview of one embodiment of a multi leaddistribution system engine (also referred to as a “system”) 100. Ingeneral, the multi lead distribution system 100 purchases consumer leadsobtained by a lead portal 135 and identifies a set of one or morecandidate lead intermediaries 140 to whom to offer and ultimately sellor otherwise distribute the lead. The term “multi distribute” is usedherein to refer to distribution of a lead or other commodity to aplurality of destinations and/or a plurality of times. The lead portal135, also known as a lead source, generally obtains the lead, eitherdirectly or indirectly, from a consumer 120. The lead intermediary 140in turn distributes the lead, either directly or indirectly by way ofanother lead intermediary 140, for use by a supplier 150 of goods and/orservices of interest to the consumer 120.

As depicted in FIG. 1, consumers 120 may access, by way of a computernetwork 125, such as the Internet, one or more content providers 130that serve as lead generators. Computer networks suitable for use withthe embodiments of the multi lead distribution system 100 include localarea networks (LANS), wide area networks (WANS), Internet, or otherconnection services and network variations, such as the World Wide Web,the public internet, a private internet, a private computer network, asecure internet, a private network, a public network, a value-addednetwork, and the like. The computer connected to the network may be anymicroprocessor controlled device that permits access to the network 125,including terminal devices, such as personal computers, workstations,servers, mini computers, mainframe computers, laptop computers, mobilecomputers, palm top computers, hand held computers, cellular phones,personal digital assistants, set top box for a TV, or a combinationthereof. The computers may further possess input devices such as akeyboard or a mouse, and output devices, such as a computer screen, aprinter, or a speaker. The computer network may include one or moreLANs, WANs, Internets, and computers. The computers may serve asservers, clients, or a combination thereof.

In preferred embodiments, the content providers 130 may be any of avariety of entities that make available to the consumers 120 one or moreweb pages that offer general and/or specialized information, services,links to other web pages, and the like.

In particular, with respect to embodiments of the multi leaddistribution system 100 described herein, one or more of the contentproviders 130 offers one or more web pages that serve as a lead portal135 through which a consumer 120 may request additional informationabout a product or service of interest and may provide contactinformation for receiving the information. The consumer 120 is thusassumed to be potentially interested in making a purchase.

In other embodiments, the content provider 130 may provide access to thelead portal 135 for consumers 120 using another communicationtechnology, such as via a text messaging system or any othercommunications system.

The request for further information from the consumer 120, including theconsumer's contact information, becomes a commodity known as a “lead,”which may be of marketing value to suppliers 150 of the product orservice of interest. The lead portal 135 may therefore be able to sellthe lead for use by one or more such suppliers 150. As depicted in FIG.1, the lead portal 135 may communicate about the lead with a multi leaddistribution system 100 that purchases leads from lead portals 135 andthat sells purchased leads to one or more lead intermediaries 140 forultimate use by one or more suppliers 150 and/or sells leads directly tosuppliers 150. In preferred embodiments, the multi lead distributionsystem 100 may communicate with the lead portal 135, and in someembodiments with the lead intermediaries 140, using any of a variety ofknown web service interfaces, such a one that uses a Simple ObjectAccess Protocol (SOAP), which is an XML-based protocol

In preferred embodiments, the lead portal 135 advantageously has apre-established contractual relationship with the multi leaddistribution system 100 that sets out, among other stipulations,conditions for the sale of leads by the lead portal 135 to the multilead distribution system 100 and conditions for the re-sale of leads bythe multi lead distribution system 100. For example, a price may be setto be paid by the multi lead distribution system 100 for leads receivedfrom the lead portal 135. The contractual relationship may specifywhether the lead portal 135 allows the leads that it sells to be re-soldto more than one lead intermediary 140, and, if so, how many times andwhat prices must be paid to the lead portal 135. For example a leadportal 135 may allow each lead to be re-sold up to three times, and mayask to be paid $10 per each use of the lead. As another example, a leadportal 135 may allow each lead to be re-sold up to four times, and maydemand different amounts to be paid for a first re-selling of a lead ascompared to subsequent re-sellings of a lead, such as $12 for the firstuse of the lead and $8 each for the second, third, and fourth uses. Asyet another example, the lead portal 135 may sell the lead for $13 andmay allow the multi lead distribution system 100 to re-sell the leadmultiple times at its discretion for no extra cost. The lead portal 135may agree to a payment arrangement with the lead distribution system 100that includes a cost discount once the multi lead distribution system100 has purchased a given quantity of leads from the lead portal 135within a given time period. Other such pricing agreements and businessrules will be familiar to one of ordinary skill in the art and arecontemplated as being implemented with embodiments of the multi leaddistribution system 100 described herein.

In addition to matters of pricing and multiple re-sells, the contractualrelationship may include business rules of the lead portal 135 that areto be carried out by the multi lead distribution system 100. Thebusiness rules may include information about relationships between thelead portal 135 and one or more of the lead intermediaries 140 and/orthe suppliers 150. For example, the lead portal 135 may specify a listof the lead intermediaries 140 and/or suppliers 150 who should receivepreference in receiving leads purchased from the lead portal 135, or towhom leads from the lead portal 135 may not be sold. The lead portal 135may also inform the multi lead distribution system 100 of pricingagreements that the lead portal 135 has established with one or more ofthe lead intermediaries 140 and/or the suppliers 150.

As will be described in greater detail below, in preferred embodiments,the multi lead distribution system 100 is configured to very flexiblyand easily accommodate modifications to its selection functions. Thus,in preferred embodiments, the multi lead distribution system 100 isconfigured to carry out business rules and agreements imported from afirst lead portal 135 together with its own internal business rules andagreements when selecting candidate destinations for leads offered forpurchase by the first lead portal 135, and, when selecting candidatedestinations for leads offered for purchase by a second lead portal 135,to carry out business rules and agreements imported from the second leadportal 135 together with its own internal business rules and agreements.A table-driven selection system accesses in real-time a variety ofvalues that represent the business rules and agreements of the leadportal, one or more candidate destinations, and the multi leaddistribution system 100 itself in order to select an advantageous one ormore destinations to receive the lead. In preferred embodiments, eachselection determination is made using up-to-date decision factor valuesdrawn dynamically from data values that may be advantageously modifiedat any time to reflect business agreements and/or to enhance systemperformance. In one embodiment, the multi lead distribution system 100is configured to identify a proposed set of destinations for a leadwithin less than one-half second.

In preferred embodiments, the multi lead distribution system 100 alsoadvantageously has pre-established contractual relationships with one ormore lead intermediaries 140 that set out, among other stipulations,conditions for the purchase of leads by each of the lead intermediaries140 from the multi lead distribution system 100. For example, each ofthe lead intermediaries may agree on a price to be paid for leadsreceived from the multi lead distribution system 100. The contractualrelationship may specify whether the lead intermediary 140 is willing topurchase leads that are also offered to one or more other leadintermediaries 140 and whether the lead intermediary 140 refuses toreceive leads from any one or more lead portals 135 including leadportals 135 of specified quality levels. The contractual relationshipmay specify suppliers 150 to whom the lead intermediary 140 sells leads.Lead pricing structures and business rules in this area will be familiarto one of ordinary skill in the art and are contemplated as beingimplemented with embodiments of the multi lead distribution system 100described herein. The multi lead distribution system 100 advantageouslystores the business rules and preferences imported from the various leadintermediaries for use in distributing leads.

Communications between the multi lead distribution system 100 and someor all of the lead intermediaries 140 may take place via computernetwork, such as, for example the Internet or other public network.Additionally or alternatively, the multi lead distribution system 100may communicate with some or all of the lead intermediaries 140 via anintranet or via a direct and/or dedicated computer communicationconnection. In some embodiments, as described below, the multi leaddistribution system 100 and at least one lead intermediary 140 may beoperated by a single business entity and may be implemented within asingle computer system.

Before the multi lead distribution system 100 purchases a lead from thelead portal 135, the lead portal 135 may first advantageously providethe multi lead distribution system 100 with partial information aboutthe lead, as will be described in greater detail with reference to FIG.2A below. The multi lead distribution system 100, in turn, providespartial information about the lead to one or more lead intermediaries140 and/or directly to one or more suppliers 150 in order to inquire ifthey are tentatively interested in purchasing the lead.

Advantageously, the multi lead distribution system 100, or otherpotential purchasers, are interested in purchasing leads that are knownto be of interest to one or more lead intermediaries 140. A leadintermediary 140, in turn, is interested in purchasing leads that thelead intermediary 140 knows it can sell to one or more suppliers 150and/or other intermediaries 140.

Suppliers 150, and other lead users may not always agree to purchaseevery lead offered to them. For example, suppliers 150 are typically notwilling to purchase an unlimited amount of leads within a given timeperiod, nor are they typically willing to purchase leads for products orservices that they do not sell, or that are from geographical areas thatthey do not serve. For example, automobile suppliers 150 may not want topay for leads for very popular vehicles, known as “high demand” vehicleswhich may be hard to keep in stock and which the supplier 150, in anyevent, knows will be easy to sell. For these and/or other reasons,suppliers 150 may not wish to purchase an offered lead.

Furthermore, suppliers 150 may enter into contractual agreements topurchase leads from one or more lead brokers, such as leadintermediaries 140 and/or from the lead distribution system 100. In someembodiments, lead intermediaries will purchase leads on behalf ofsuppliers 150 and other entities such as sales support services, may usethe lead on behalf of the supplier 150.

Frequently, at least in part in order to avoid receiving more leadswithin a given time period, such as per month or per week, than thesupplier 150 can adequately service, the supplier 150 enters into anagreement with the lead intermediary 140 or other provider of leads, toestablish a maximum number of leads per given time period (referred toherein as a “cap”, “target” or “run stop” amount) that the supplier 150will agree to purchase from the lead intermediary 140, lead distributionsystem 100, or other provider of leads. In some embodiments, incrementsof the target amount known as a “run rate amount” may also be tracked.For example, a supplier 150 with a target amount of sixty leads may havea daily run rate of two leads that the supplier 150 wishes for the multilead distribution system 100 to use to limit leads distributed to thesupplier 150. A supplier 150 who contracts to purchase leads from morethan one lead intermediary 140 may have a separate target amount witheach lead intermediary 140. At a given instance, the supplier 150 mayhave met its target or run rate with a first lead intermediary 140 andthus be unwilling to accept additional leads from the first leadintermediary 140 during the time period, while still being willing toaccept leads from a second lead intermediary 140, from whom the supplier150 has not yet purchased its target amount or run rate amount of leadsfor the time period.

In some embodiments, before agreeing to purchase the lead from the leadportal 135, the multi lead distribution system 100 first communicateswith the lead intermediaries 140 to confirm that an interest exists inbuying the lead.

One example of an industry in which consumer leads are purchased bysuppliers 150 is the automotive industry. Lead portals 135 for theautomotive industry advantageously send an abbreviated notification,including partial information about a potential lead, which is known asa “ping.” The ping may include, for example, only zip code information,or zip code and automotive make and model information, which suppliers150 and intermediaries 140 may use to determine if they are interestedin purchasing the lead. In other embodiments, the ping may also includeinformation about an automobile's trim level that is of interest to theconsumer 120, or other defining information. The consumer 120 contactinformation is not usually disclosed during the ping stage of the lead.

If interest on the part of one or more lead intermediaries 140 and/orsuppliers 150 is confirmed, the multi lead distribution system 100 maythen relay back to the lead portal 135 an interest in purchasing thelead. The lead portal 135 may then provide the actual lead, includingfull consumer contact information that may be used by one or moresuppliers 150 to contact the consumer 120. Sending the lead with theconsumer's full contact information is commonly known as “posting” thelead. In the case of a lead sent to the multi lead distribution system100, once the lead portal 135 has posted, the multi lead distributionsystem 100 may then sell the lead one or more times, as desired and inaccordance with contractual agreements that the multi lead distributionsystem 100 has with the lead portal 135, the lead intermediaries 140,and/or the suppliers 150.

If no interest on the part of one or more lead intermediaries 140 and/orsuppliers 150 is indicated, at either the ping or the post stage, themulti lead distribution system 100 may decline the lead. If the multilead distribution system 100 is able to identify suitable leadintermediaries 140 and/or suppliers 150 for only a portion of theavailable distributions of the lead, the multi lead distribution system100 may indicate to the lead portal 135 an interest in purchasing onlythe portion of the available placements.

In some embodiments, the lead portal 135 may not first ping the multilead distribution system 100, and instead directly posts the lead to themulti lead distribution system 100 with full consumer contactinformation when offering the lead for sale to the multi leaddistribution system 100.

In FIG. 1, the lead portals 135, the lead intermediaries 140, and themulti lead distribution system 100 are depicted as three separateentities that may communicate with one another via computer network 125.In other embodiments, however, one or more of the lead portals 135, thelead intermediaries 140, and the multi lead distribution system 100 maybe affiliated with one another under a joint corporate umbrella and mayeven share a common physical location. Functions of the lead portals135, the lead intermediaries 140, and/or the multi lead distributionsystem 100 may advantageously be carried out by a single businessentity. The multi lead distribution system disclosed herein mayadvantageously be easily adjusted to allow for a wide variety of suchbusiness configurations, in which some sales are viewed as “retail”while others are “wholesale”, and the system 100 advantageously managesrelationships with all.

For example, a single business entity may operate both a lead portal 135and a lead intermediary 140 for one or more suppliers 150. One exampleof such an entity is an automobile manufacturer that maintains a websitefor providing information about the automobiles that it manufactures andthat also accepts requests for additional information, such as questionsabout vehicle availability or price quotes, received from consumers 120using the website. The manufacturer may forward to one or more of itsaffiliated dealers/suppliers the contact information and questions ofthe consumer 120 as a lead.

Another example of an entity that may operate both a lead portal 135 anda lead intermediary 140 is an automobile informational web service, suchas the website operated by Kelley Blue Book, or the website operated byEdmunds.

A business entity that operates both a lead portal 135 and a leadintermediary 140 may send all of the leads received by its lead portal135 to its lead intermediary 140, but may purchase additional leads fromthe multi lead distribution system 100 for re-sale by its leadintermediary 140. In other instances, rather than “sending” the lead toits lead intermediary 140 portion, the entity may be configured tooperate as a lead intermediary 140 itself and may therefore send some orall of its leads directly to one or more suppliers 150.

A business entity that operates both a lead portal 135 and a leadintermediary 140 may choose to sell at least a portion of the leads thatit receives through its lead portal 135 to the multi lead distributionsystem 100 for any of a variety of business reasons. For example, thelead intermediary 140 portion of the entity may be configured to selleach lead to only a single supplier 150 and the entity may earn more byselling the lead to the multi lead distribution system 100 fordistribution to several suppliers 150. As another example, the leadportal 135 portion of the entity may offer a lead to the multi-leaddistribution system 100 when the lead intermediary 140 portion of theentity does not have a buyer for the lead. As was described above, asupplier 150 who has reached its target amount of leads may not bewilling to purchase additional leads from the corporate entity's leadintermediary 140, while being willing to purchase leads through anotherlead intermediary 140 who may receive leads from the multi leaddistribution system 100.

Additionally or alternatively, the business entity may be configured tosell its leads to more than one supplier 150, but may not be configuredto intelligently and efficiently identify a set of suppliers 150 to whomto sell each lead so that revenue and/or other business benefits fromthe lead are maximized. In such cases, although the multi leaddistribution system 100 may be permitted to sell the lead to a leadintermediary 140 other than the lead intermediary operated by thebusiness entity, the contractual agreement between the multi leaddistribution system 100 and the lead portal 135 of the business entitymay stipulate that the lead intermediary 140 portion of the entityshould receive leads from the lead portal 135 preferentially over otherlead intermediaries 140. For example, an affiliated and preferred leadintermediary 140 may more frequently be offered leads from lead portalsknown to be of high quality, as will be described in greater detail withreference to FIGS. 8A-8F and FIG. 9. As another example, the multi leaddistribution system 100 may route some leads to affiliated leadintermediaries 140 even if other non-affiliated lead intermediaries arewilling to pay more for the lead. Alternatively, the contractualagreement with the multi lead system 100 may stipulate that the leadportal 135 will sell the lead directly to its own affiliated leadintermediary 140 and that, in addition, the multi lead distributionsystem 100 may sell the lead only to other lead intermediaries 140.

As another example of how the lead portals 135, the lead intermediaries140, and the multi lead distribution system 100 may be affiliated, themulti lead distribution system 100 may be operated by an entity thatalso operates one or more lead intermediaries 140. In such cases, theaffiliated lead intermediaries 140 will advantageously frequentlyreceive preferential treatment in receiving leads from the multi leaddistribution system 100, as will be described in greater detail withreference to revenue scoring below. Furthermore, in some embodiments ofsuch cases, the one or more affiliated lead intermediaries 140 may beco-located with the multi lead distribution system 100 or may beotherwise in direct communication with the multi lead distributionsystem 100, such as via an intranet or other internally operated networkor file system. Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments ofsuch cases, the multi lead distribution system 100 has access toinformation about one or more suppliers 150 available from theaffiliated lead intermediaries that may not be available from othernon-affiliated lead intermediaries. For example, the multi leaddistribution system 100 may have access to lead target informationregarding one or more suppliers 150 with respect to an affiliated leadintermediary, but not with reference to unaffiliated leadintermediaries. Thus, the multi lead distribution system 100 may be ableto identify suppliers who have reached their target amount of leadspurchased from an affiliated lead intermediary 140, but not be able toperform the same identification for other non-affiliated leadintermediaries. As discussed further with reference to FIGS. 8A-8F,embodiments of the multi lead distribution system 100 are advantageouslyconfigured to use the additional information about the suppliers 150,when the information is available, in selecting suppliers to whom tooffer the leads it receives from the lead portal 135, and to selectsuppliers to whom to offer the leads without benefit of the additionalinformation when the information is not available. Furthermore, when themulti lead distribution system 100 is closely affiliated with one ormore lead intermediaries 140, the combined multi lead distributionsystem 100/lead intermediary 140 may distribute leads directly to atleast some of the suppliers 150.

Additionally, although the environment depicted in FIG. 1 includes onlylead portals 135 that receive information about leads directly fromconsumers 120, in other embodiments, the information about leads maypass from the consumer 120 to a first lead portal 135 and then toanother, or through one or more other lead aggregators or other types ofentities, before being transmitted to the multi lead distribution system100.

The environment depicted in FIG. 1 similarly includes only leadintermediaries 140 who are in direct contact with the suppliers 150. Inother embodiments, the multi lead distribution system 100 may sell orotherwise transfer leads to lead intermediaries 140 (lead brokers) whoin turn transfer the leads to other lead intermediaries 140 before theleads reach the suppliers 150, or other end users of the leads.

Although the suppliers 150 in FIG. 1 have been described as entitiesthat both offer the goods or services of interest to the consumer 120and as entities that contact the consumers 120 in response to the leads,in other embodiments, another entity, such as a separate marketingservice for the supplier 150, may receive the leads from the leadintermediaries 140 and may contact the consumers 120 on behalf of thesuppliers 150.

As depicted in FIG. 1, the multi lead distribution system 100 mayreceive leads from more than one lead portal 135, each one receivingleads from a large number of consumers 120. Typically, each individuallead is associated with a single lead portal 135.

In some embodiments, a lead portal 135 may establish more than onecontractual relationship with the multi lead distribution system 100.For example, the lead portal 135 may sell leads from different parts ofits system (for example, from its homepage, from its consumer automobilesection, from its shopping information page) to the multi leaddistribution system 100 according to different pricing structures. Thedifferent contractual relationships may be distinguished from oneanother in dealings between the lead portal 135 and the multi leaddistribution system 100 by the use of different identification numbersfor the various contractual relationships. Similarly, intermediaries 140may operate different “programs”, or different aspects of anintermediary 140 may be identified by the multi lead distribution system100 as more than one intermediary program, each with its own importedset of business rules for applying the selection and blocking routinesof the multi lead distribution system 100.

Although FIG. 1 includes only a single multi lead distribution system100, in other embodiments, more than one multi lead distribution system100 may be present, operating independently, cooperatively, or acombination of the two.

Furthermore, throughout the present disclosure, embodiments of the multilead distribution system 100 are described with reference to thedistribution of leads regarding automobile purchases. As will beunderstood by one of ordinary skill in the art in light of the presentdisclosure, the system 100 may also be used for distributing and/ormulti-distributing any of a variety of other leads, including, but notlimited to, other types of sales, requests for information about variouscommodities, such as loans or insurance, and other business leads. Inother embodiments, the system 100 may be used to multi-distribute othercommodities, such as advertising space for real-time presentation on webpages or other electronic media.

FIG. 2A depicts one embodiment of a preliminary lead submission form200. Embodiments of the preliminary lead submission form 200 may bepresented as a web page by a lead portal 135 for enabling a consumer 120to request additional information about one or more products and/orservices. The preliminary lead submission form 200 depicted in FIG. 2Ais intended for use by consumers who express an interest in topurchasing a vehicle. The form 200 asks the consumers 120 to provideinformation about their request and informs them that one or moredealers will contact them with auto pricing and delivery information. Aswas described with reference to FIG. 1, in some embodiments, the leadportal 135 may first provide the multi lead distribution system 100 withpartial information about the lead in order to determine whether themulti lead distribution system 100 has any interest in purchasing thelead. The sample preliminary lead submission form 200 of FIG. 2A acceptspreliminary information from the consumer 120 which the lead portal 135receives once the consumer clicks the submit button 235 or otherwiseindicates a desire to submit a request for additional information. Thelead portal 135 may then transmit to the multi lead distribution system100 a ping (a notification of a potential lead), which may, in someembodiments, be transmitted to the multi lead distribution system 100 inthe form of a data packet, wireless transmission, or other signal. Ifthe multi lead distribution system 100 responds with acceptance of thelead, the lead information (post) may similarly in some embodiments, betransmitted to the multi lead distribution system 100 in the form of adata packet, wireless transmission, or other signal.

In this example, the lead portal 135 advantageously collects leads fromconsumers 120 who may be interested in purchasing an automobile. Forthis the purpose, the sample preliminary lead submission form 200provides one or more drop-down menus or other user input technology foraccepting information from the consumer 120 regarding an automobile make210 and model 220. The preliminary lead submission form 200 alsoprovides user input technology for accepting the consumer's zip code230. For the automobile industry, providing information about a make,model, and zip code of interest may allow lead intermediaries 140 and/orsuppliers 150 to determine if a potential lead is of interest, whileallowing the consumer 120 to remain anonymous before purchase of thelead by the multi lead distribution system 100.

In some embodiments, the lead portal 135 may accept other types ofinformation from the consumer 120 for inclusion with the preliminarylead submission. For example, for auto industry leads, the lead portal135 may accept information about desired accessory and trim levels fromthe consumer 120.

As will be familiar to practitioners skilled in the art, preliminarylead submission forms 200 for other industries, such as for cell phoneplans, real estate purchases, online banner advertising fresh flowerpurchases, automobile financing, real estate mortgages, credit cardinquiries, and the like, may accept other types of information from theconsumer 120 as relevant to their industries. Furthermore, preliminarylead submission forms 200 for some industries that are notlocation-dependent, such as for mail order sales or internet-based saleslike eBay, for example, may not request zip code information 230 fromthe consumer 120.

In some embodiments, the preliminary lead submission form 200 may bepresented to the consumer 120 as more than one web page that acceptsinformation before submission of the partial information to the multilead distribution system 100.

FIG. 2B depicts one embodiment of a full lead submission form 240.Embodiments of the full lead submission form 240 may be displayed as aweb page by the lead portal 135 to the consumer 120 in response tosubmission of the preliminary lead submission form 200.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2B, the full lead submission form 240includes a list of candidate suppliers 260, selected by the multi leaddistribution system 100, who are potentially interested in receiving thelead. In the case of an automobile lead distribution system, thecandidate suppliers 260 may be automobile dealerships. The full leadsubmission form 240 may include, for each candidate supplier 260, radiobuttons 270 or another input technology for allowing the consumer toindicate whether the consumer 120 wishes the lead information to beprovided to that candidate supplier 260. In preferred embodiments,default settings of the radio buttons 270 indicate that the consumer'scontact information 250 will be provided to all of the candidatesuppliers 260, and the consumer 120 may override the default for one ormore candidate suppliers 260, if desired, by clicking the appropriatebuttons 270.

In some embodiments, buttons 270 are provided to allow the consumer 120to indicate dealers 260 that the consumer 120 does not want to receivethe contact information, but in the absence of such indication, thecontact information is sent to all the dealers on the candidate dealerlist 260.

For online environments, the sample full lead submission form 240 ofFIG. 2B is preferably displayed for the consumer 120 by the lead portal135 in less than one second, or only a very few seconds, from the timethat the preliminary lead submission form 200 was submitted. In order tosubmit the full lead, the consumer 120 enters contact information 250that allows one or more suppliers 150 to contact the consumer 120regarding the product or service of interest.

In the sample full lead submission form 240 depicted in FIG. 2B, theconsumer 120 is also prompted to enter additional information 280,including information about preferred contact times, intended time framefor purchase, comments, and permission to use the contact informationfor purposes other than soliciting information about the desiredproducts and/or services. In some other embodiments, no additionalinformation 280 is requested of the consumer 120. In still otherembodiments, other types of additional information 280 may beadditionally or alternatively requested from the consumer 120. Once theconsumer 120 presses a submit button 290, or otherwise indicates adesire to submit the information, the lead portal 135 submits some orall of the information from the full lead submission form 240 to themulti lead distribution system 100.

In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 2B, the consumers 120 are informedthat their information will be sent to the indicated dealers and thatone or more of the dealers will contact them with further information.In other embodiments, the consumer 150 is informed that their contactinformation will be provided to one or more dealers who can provide theconsumer with the desired product information, but no list of dealernames 260 is provided to the consumer or, in some embodiments, to thelead portal 135

In some embodiments, the multi lead distribution system 100 may use theconsumer contact information 250 for additional uses other than the leadin question, unless such additional use is prohibited by agreements withthe lead portal 135 or unless permission is denied by the consumer 100.Such additional use of consumers contact information, including forexample the inclusion of the information on mailing lists that may besold, may provide additional revenue to the multi lead distributionsystem 100 and may accordingly make lead portals 135 that allow suchadditional use more attractive as business partners to the multi leaddistribution system 100. As will be described in greater detail withreference to FIG. 9 below, the multi lead distribution system 100advantageously includes control mechanisms that allow for inclusion ofadditional business considerations in the assessment of the desirabilityof purchasing a lead from a lead portal 135.

FIG. 3A is a block diagram that illustrates in greater detail oneembodiment of a multi lead distribution system 100. The multi leaddistribution system 100 is a processing engine that may be implementedas one or more computer processors configured to access a set ofcomputer processor instructions stored on a processor-readable medium.The computer processor instructions instruct the processors to takeactions, including accessing various processor-readable datarepositories 305, 306, 307, 308, 309 stored on processor-readablemedium, to carry out the functions described herein. Instructions referto computer-implemented steps for processing information in the multilead distribution system. Instructions can be implemented in software,firmware or hardware and include any type of programmed step undertakenby modules of the multi lead distribution system.

The multi lead distribution system 100 includes various modules asdiscussed in detail below. The modules may advantageously be implementedas one or more computer program modules configured to reside on anaddressable storage medium operably connected to one or moremicroprocessors. The modules may be advantageously configured to executeon the one or more microprocessors. As can be appreciated by one ofordinary skill in the art, each of the modules may comprise varioussub-routines, procedures, definitional statements, and/or macros. Themodules are not typically separately compiled (although in some casesthey may be), and, generally, the modules form part of a singleexecutable program. Therefore, the following description of each of themodules is used for convenience to describe the functionality of themulti lead distribution system. Thus, the processes that are undertakenby each of the modules may be variously redistributed to one or theother modules, combined together in a single module, or made availablein, for example, a shareable, dynamic link library.

The one or more microprocessors may be any conventional general purposeuniprocessor or multiprocessor operably connected to an addressablestorage medium, such as random access memory, and may be furtheroperably connected to a non-volatile storage medium, such as a magneticor an optical disk.

As was described with reference to the embodiment depicted in FIG. 1,the multi lead distribution system 100 receives information about newleads via the computer network 125 from the lead portal 135. As was alsodescribed with reference to the embodiment depicted in FIG. 1, the multilead distribution system 100 communicates via the network 125 with aplurality of lead intermediaries 140 that may be interested inpurchasing the lead.

The multi lead distribution system 100 determines, for each incominglead, a preferred set of one or more lead intermediaries 140 and/orsuppliers 150 to whom the multi lead distribution system 100 offers thefull lead. In preferred embodiments, the multi lead distribution system100 uses internal logic, as will be described in greater detail below,such as with reference to FIGS. 8A-8F, to derive a desirably increasedprofit from sale(s) of the lead, while also desirably increasing otherbusiness benefits and conforming to business agreements with the leadportal 135, the lead intermediaries 140 and/or with the suppliers 150.

As depicted in FIG. 3A, embodiments of the multi lead distributionsystem 100 advantageously include processor-readable storage mediumconfigured as several types of data repositories 305, 306, 307, 308, 309on which the calculations and determinations of the multi leaddistributions system 100 are based, at least in part. In one preferredembodiment, the data repositories 305, 306, 307, 308, 309 areadvantageously configured as relational databases that allow for veryefficient manipulation of data representing various complexrelationships associated with the multi lead distribution system 100. Inother embodiments, the data may be stored using other types ofadvantageous data persistence systems.

The multi lead distribution system 100 includes a repository of leadportal information 305 that stores data about the lead portals 135 (alsoknown as lead sources) from which the multi lead distribution system 100accepts leads. Information about each lead portal 135 may include, butis not limited to: information related to one or more prices charged bythe lead portal 135 for the leads it routes to the multi leaddistribution system, information about whether the lead portal allowsfor multiple re-selling of the leads it offers, and if so, any limits onthe number of times its leads may be multi-sold, information about apreferred maximum distance of suppliers receiving the lead informationfrom a consumer's zip code or other consumer location informationprovided, information about lead intermediaries 140 to which the leadportal does not want its leads sold, lead intermediaries 140 that thelead portal wishes to have preferential access to its leads, and thelike.

In preferred embodiments, one or more cost scores are associated withthe lead portal 135 and may be stored in the repository of lead portalinformation 305. The cost scores may be based on actual costs ofpurchasing leads from the lead portal 135 and may be modified by acontrol/configuration module 310 according to other businessconsiderations associated with the lead portal 135, such as specialbusiness affiliations, price breaks, or quantity bonuses offered by thelead portal 135. Thus, two lead portals 135 having the same cost scoremay, in fact, charge different amounts for their leads. Modificationsdue to business considerations may cause the two to be assigned the samecost score. In some embodiments, one of the lead portals 135 may even beowned by the same entity as owns the multi lead distribution system 100and there may be no actual monetary cost associated with obtaining leadsfrom the lead portal 135.

As will be described in greater detail with reference to FIGS. 8A-8Fbelow, cost scores are used in selecting one or more destinations for anincoming lead. Modifying a cost score to be higher than the actual costpaid for a lead may indicate that doing business with the lead portal135 is somehow less desirable and involves other perceived business“costs” beyond an actual monetary amount paid for the lead. Conversely,for a lead portal 135 that allows its lead contact information to bere-sold by the multi lead distribution system 100 for other non-leadpurposes, the cost score may be modified downward from the actual costto reflect that additional income from the lead information may offsetsome of the actual cost of the lead.

As another example, a lead portal 135 and the multi lead distributionsystem 100 may be owned by the same entity or may be otherwise speciallyaffiliated, and a cost score assigned to the lead portal 135 mayaccordingly be adjust downward to aid in distribution of leads from thelead portal 135. As yet another example, the control/configurationmodule 310 may be configured to automatically lower the cost score of alead portal 135 that has newly registered to sell leads through themulti lead distribution system 100 for an introductory period of time inorder to increase sales of leads from the lead portal 135 and in orderto provide a positive business experience for the lead portal 135. Thecontrol/configuration module 310 may be configured to detect how manyleads have been purchased from the lead portal 135 within a given timeperiod. If a business agreement with the lead portal 135 specifies thatthe lead portal 135 will provide a bonus to the lead distribution system100 once the lead distribution system 100 has purchased a thresholdnumber of leads, the control/configuration module 310 may automaticallymodify one or more cost scores associated with the lead portal 135 asthat threshold number of leads approaches.

In general, elevating a lead portal's cost score will tend to slow downor diminish the sale of its leads, as the system 100 will find fewerprofitable buyers for the leads. Conversely, lowering a lead portal'scost score will make identification of a transaction perceived asprofitable easier.

These and other modifications to the cost score and to other types ofscores described herein will be understood by one of ordinary skill inthe art in light of the present disclosure and are contemplated as beingwithin the scope of the present disclosure.

The multi lead distribution system 100 also includes a repository oflead intermediary information 306 that stores data about the leadintermediaries 140 to which the multi lead distribution system 100 sellsleads. Information about each lead intermediary 140 may include, some orall of: information related to one or more actual prices paid by thelead intermediary 140 for the leads it buys from the multi leaddistribution system, one or more associated revenue scores relative tothe lead intermediary 140, information about suppliers 150 to whom thelead intermediary 140 sell leads, information about whether the leadintermediary has any limits on the lead portals 135 from which the leadintermediary will accept leads, information about whether the leadintermediary accepts only exclusive leads or whether it is willing toaccept leads that are also sold to other lead intermediaries and/orsuppliers 150, and the like. In some embodiments, additional informationabout the lead intermediary may also be stored in the lead intermediaryrepository 306.

In some embodiments, the multi lead distribution system 100 furtherincludes a repository of supplier information 374 that includesinformation about some or all of the suppliers 150 to whom leads fromthe multi lead distribution system 100 are sold. The information mayinclude information such as: location information about the supplier,types of products sold by the supplier, lead intermediaries from whomthe supplier buys leads, and the like.

FIG. 9 below depicts one embodiment of a screen shot of a form 900 thatprovides a view to information from the repository of lead portalinformation 305, the repository of lead intermediary information 306,and the repository of supplier information 374. In some embodiments, theform 900 may be used by a control/configuration module 310 to enterand/or to modify data in the repositories 305, 306, 374 and to therebymodify system behavior.

A repository of historical lead transaction information 309 storesinformation about leads that have been purchased and/or sold by themulti lead distribution system 100 including data values used forselecting lead recipients. The information may be used to assist inaccounting functions such as, for example, tracking sales of leads,progress towards target sales goals, accounting of monies owed to thelead portals 135 for the purchase of leads, and monies owed by the leadintermediaries 140 for leads received from the multi lead distributionsystem 100. The information may also be advantageously used forassessing the performance and/or profitability of the multi leaddistribution system 100, of the lead portals 135 and/or of the leadintermediaries 140. For example, data in the historical lead log 309allows the system manager 300 to review past distribution decisions andto carry out ‘what-if’ type simulations that allow performance of themulti lead distribution system 100 to be advantageously modified andenhanced, when applicable.

The control/configuration module 310 may set and re-set various systemfactors, such as one or more simulated cost scores, revenue scores, leadportal quality assignments, number of sellings allowed per lead, or thelike, to hypothetical levels and to “replay” the system's leaddistribution activities of a previous time period, in order to assessthe effect of such modifications upon the overall profitability and/ormeasure of system 100 performance. Based on such assessment, thecontrol/configuration module 310 may set future system data values usedto carry out future lead distributions, resulting in better businessbenefit going forward.

The historical lead log 309 may also be used to examine and understandpast performance. For example, if a given lead portal allows the multilead distribution system 100 to route each lead four different times,but data in the historical lead log 309 indicates that usually only twoplacements per lead are found for leads from the lead portal 135, therecord in the log may be examined in order to understand the cause ofthe system's 100 behavior. In various embodiments, thecontrol/configuration module 310 may be configured to regularly reviewsystem performance, at any of a variety of advantageous time spans, bothshort and long. For example, the control/configuration module 310 may beconfigured to “replay” and review system performance every six to twelvemonths, or do a random simulation/modification of one week's performanceevery month, or review system performance during the busiest and thequietest hours at the end of each day. The selected time period to bereviewed may be similarly of different durations, such as from thirty tofive hundred seconds, or from half-an-hour up to twelve hours, or oneday to one week, or any of a variety of other advantageous time ranges.Additionally or alternatively, the control/configuration module 310 maybe configured to simulate the effect of proposed special programs, suchas rebates, quantity discounts, higher pricing for higher quality leadsthat may be contemplated as being offered or being modified by the leaddistribution system 100 in the future. As will be clear to one ofordinary skill in the art in light of the present disclosure, the system100 provides for a wide range of analysis opportunity. Furthermore, insome embodiments, an automated trigger, such as a timer or calendarreminder system, or a module configured to recognize specific patternsin the lead log records, instructs the control/configuration module 310to automatically modify one or more quality grades or scores or otherdata variables, as indicated by an analysis of simulation exercise,thereby affecting subsequent calculations and potentially affectingselection of candidate recipients of the business leads.

The multi lead distribution system 100 further includes a repository ofcontrol information 308. The repository of control information 308 mayinclude information entered into the system 100 using acontrol/configuration module 310 that modifies the values of data in therepositories 305, 306, 307, 308, 309 and thereby affects the results ofvarious functions performed on data by a lead portal interface module301, a destination collection module 302, a destinationselection/scoring module 303, and a lead fulfillment module 304 of themulti lead distribution system 100. In some embodiments, scores, qualityranking assignments, and the like, may be stored in the controlinformation repository 308.

The lead portal interface module 301 communicates with the lead portals135. The lead portal interface module 301 accepts information from thelead portal 135, both in the form of partial lead information (a ‘ping’)and in the form of full lead information (a ‘post’). The lead portalinterface module 301 may transmit to the lead portal 135, in response toa ping, information about a candidate set of suppliers 260 to whom alead may be sent. The lead portal interface module 301 may transmitinformation indicative of an interest in purchasing the lead without anindication of which suppliers 150 will receive the consumer's 120contact information.

Once a lead is posted, and the lead has been accepted for purchase byone or more lead intermediaries 140 and/or suppliers 150, the leadportal interface module 301 may also transmit to the lead portal 135and/or directly to the consumer 120 an acknowledgement of the post. Insome embodiments, the acknowledgement may include information about aset of intermediaries 140 and/or suppliers 150 to whom the lead wassent.

In some embodiments, the lead portal interface module 301 performs oneor more validation processes on incoming pings and posts in order toadvantageously eliminate pings and posts that are suspected of beingfraudulent. Various methods of validation known to practitioners ofskill in the leads industry may be used by the lead portal interfacemodule 301. For example, when consumer names are included, pings andposts that include names of famous persons, literary characters, obscenewords, or the like, may be rejected by the lead portal interface module301. Similarly, pings and posts that include non-existent zip codes maybe rejected by the lead portal interface module 301. When possible,leads that are duplicative of previously received leads may also beeliminated.

Once the lead portal interface module 301 has validated the incomingping or post, a destination collection module 302 identifies an initialset of potential lead intermediaries 140 who may be interested inpurchasing the associated lead. In one embodiment, the destinationcollection module 302 identifies the initial set of potential leadintermediaries 140 by instructing the lead fulfillment module 304 tosend the ping information to all or some of the intermediaries 140 toinquire which of them are interested in purchasing the lead asidentified by the ping information. Information about leadintermediaries 140 that respond affirmatively to the inquiry is returnedto the destination collection module 302 and is used to form an initialset of potential lead intermediaries 140 for the lead.

In one embodiment, the destination collection module 302 forms theinitial set of potential lead intermediaries 140 for the lead byaccessing stored information in the repository of lead intermediaryinformation 306 and/or in the repository of supplier information 307 toidentify suppliers 150 and/or lead intermediaries 140 who may beinterested in the lead, based on the ping information received from thelead portal 135. The destination collection module 302 instructs thelead fulfillment module 304 to send the ping information to all or someof the intermediaries 140 identified by the destination collectionmodule 302 to inquire which of them are interested in purchasing thelead as identified by the ping information.

In some embodiments, the destination collection module 302 identifiesthe initial set of potential lead intermediaries 140 to whom to send thelead ping by a combination of the above-described methods, namely, by acombination of identifying suppliers 150 and/or lead intermediaries 140who may have interest in the lead based on the ping information andinformation in one or more of the data repositories 307, 306, 305 and/orby sending out a blanket set of pings to a set of intermediaries 140without specific knowledge of their potential interest in the ping.

Once the destination collection module 302 receives back responses tothe initial set of pings sent out by the lead fulfillment module 304,the destination collection module 302 collects information about thoselead intermediaries 140 and/or suppliers 150 that responded positivelyto the lead ping.

In preferred embodiments, lead intermediaries 140 that respondpositively to the lead ping also provide a list of suppliers 150 to whomthey are potentially interested in selling the lead. Because suppliers150 may have relationships established to purchase leads from more thanone lead intermediary 140, it is possible that two or more leadintermediaries 140 expressing interest in a lead may intend to sell thelead to the same supplier 150. By receiving information from the leadintermediaries 140 about the supplier(s) 150 to whom they intend to sellthe lead, the multi lead distribution system 100 may advantageouslyavoid selling the same lead twice for the same supplier, and may beable, as described below, to identify a most profitable, or otherwiseadvantageous, lead intermediary 140 to use for selling a given lead to agiven supplier 150. Accordingly, the system 100 may advantageously viewthe pairing of a lead intermediary and a supplier as a “destinationpairing” for a given lead, to be compared with other potential“destination pairings” in determining how best to sell the lead. Forpurposes of the present disclosure, destination pairings mayalternatively be referred to as “destinations” or “intermediary/supplierpairings” or the like. Additionally, some intermediaries 140 may notshare information about the suppliers 150 to whom they sell their leads.In some embodiments, the system 100 may sell leads to theseintermediaries 140 only if no other eligible destination pairings areavailable, or may otherwise modify one or more decision factor values totreat such intermediaries with less preference. For purposes of thepresent disclosure, however, the terms “destination,” “destinationpairing,” “intermediary/supplier” and the like may refer to suchintermediaries where the supplier is unknown.

The destination collection module 302 provides the collected informationto a destination selection/scoring module 303 that advantageouslyidentifies a preferred set of lead intermediary/supplier pairs(destinations) to whom to sell the lead from amongst the set whoresponded positively to the ping. In preferred embodiments, thedestination selection/scoring module 303 applies a set of filteringoperations and logical resolution on data values for the collected setand then scores the remaining sets of lead intermediaries 140 that arepotentially interested in the lead and the suppliers 150 to whom theywould like to sell the lead. The scoring is advantageously based, atleast in part, on a set of margin scores that are calculated as thedifferences between one or more cost scores assigned to the lead portal135 and on a revenue score assigned each of the potential leadintermediaries 140 for the lead. In some embodiments, the scoring andfiltering occur substantially simultaneously. The scoring and selectionprocesses of the selection/scoring module 303 are described in greaterdetail with reference to FIGS. 8A-8F.

Once a set of one or more lead intermediary/supplier pairings have beenselected for receiving a lead, and once the lead information arrivesfrom the lead portal 135, the lead fulfillment module 304 sends the leadcontact information to the selected intermediaries 140 and/or suppliers150.

The lead may be sent as an email, fax, text message or othercomputer-transmitted communication.

The cost scores assigned to the lead portal 135 generating the lead arebased, at least in part, on one or more contracted costs that the multilead distribution system 100 has agreed to pay for leads purchased fromthe lead portal 135. As has been described above, the lead portal's costscore may be modified, automatically or by the system manager 300, fromits original cost value, based on one or more business considerationsthat may alter the system's 100 perceived “cost” of doing business withthe lead portal 135.

The revenue score assigned to each of the lead intermediaries 140potentially interested in purchasing the lead is based, at least inpart, on one or more contracted amounts that the lead intermediary 140has agreed to pay for leads purchased from the multi lead distributionsystem 100. As will be described in greater detail below, the leadintermediary's revenue score may be modified from its original purchaseprice value by the system manager 300, based on one or more businessconsiderations that may alter the system's 100 perceived gain fromselling a lead to the lead intermediary 140.

As described above, for each time that a lead may be sold, the marginscore is calculated as:margin score=(revenue score_(intermediary)−cost score_(portal))

Because the cost scores and the revenue scores are based in part onbusiness considerations, the margin score, too, is based on both apotential monetary profit (or loss) generated by the purchase and saleof the lead, as well as on other business considerations that may not beassociated with immediate monetary profit from the sale of the lead.Thus, the margin score represents a measure of perceived “businessbenefit” from the transaction, which includes both immediate monetaryprofit and, as assessed by the system manager 300, other perceivedbenefit based on business considerations.

In a preferred embodiment, a generalized definition of the task of thedestination selection/scoring module 303 is to identify the set ofintermediaries 140 to whom selling the lead will maximize the marginscores.

In some embodiments, a default value for the cost score is an actualcost charged by the lead portal 135 for the lead. Thus, if the leadportal 135 charges $10.50 for the leads that it provides, then “10.5”may be a default value for the cost score for the lead portal 135. If alead portal 135 allows for multiple re-sales of the leads that itprovides, and charges a different amount for each use of the lead, thena different cost score may be assigned for each purchase of the lead.For example, if $12 is charged for a first use of the lead, and $8 ischarged for subsequent uses of the lead, up to a maximum of four totaluses of the lead, then default cost scores of “12,” “8”, “8”, and “8”may be assigned to the four possible uses of the lead. In otherembodiments, the default value for the cost score is exactly orapproximately proportional to the actual cost rather than being equal tothe cost. Thus, the default cost scores for the example given above maybe “120”, “80”, “80” and “80.”

Information about the default cost scores assigned to the lead portals135 may be advantageously stored in the lead portal informationrepository 305.

Once one or more default cost scores have been initially assigned to thelead portal 135 based on actual costs for purchasing leads from the leadportal 135, other business considerations may be used to modify the costscore, as will be described in more detail below, with reference to acontrol/configuration module 310 that may be accessed by a systemmanager 300.

In some embodiments, a default value for the revenue score initiallyassigned to a lead intermediary 140 is an actual amount paid by the leadintermediary 140 for the lead. Thus, if the lead intermediary 140 pays$20 for the leads that it purchases from the multi lead distributionsystem 100, then “20” may be an initial default value for the revenuescore for the lead intermediary 140. In other embodiments, the initialdefault value for the revenue score is exactly or approximatelyproportional to the actual revenue received from a lead intermediary 140rather than being equal to the revenue. Thus, the default revenue scoresfor the example given above may be “200” or another value that allowsfor meaningful calculations between cost scores and revenue scores.

In preferred embodiments, information about the default revenue scoresassigned to the lead intermediary 140 is stored in the lead intermediaryinformation repository 306.

Once a default revenue score has been assigned to the lead intermediary140 based on actual revenue, other business considerations may be usedto modify the revenue score, as will be described in more detail below,with reference the control/configuration module 310 that may be accessedby the system manager 300.

As depicted in FIG. 3A, the system manager 300 may access thecontrol/configuration module 310 of the multi lead distribution system100 in order to perform a variety of functions that influence thedestination/scoring module 303. In particular, in preferred embodiments,the control/configuration module 310 allows the system manager 300 tomanipulate values stored in the repository of control information 308and/or in one or more of the other data repositories 305, 306, 307,which in turn allow the destination selection/scoring module 303 toadvantageously select a set of lead intermediaries 140 in accordancewith current business considerations of the entity operating the multilead distribution system 100.

In particular, the control/configuration module 310 may allow the systemmanager 300 to adjust cost scores, revenue scores, and/or other factorsused in selecting destinations in a number of ways. For example, ifinformation stored in a repository of historical lead transactioninformation 309 indicates that a high percentage of past leads from agiven lead portal 135 have ultimately proven to be fraudulent and havecaused difficulties for the multi lead distribution system 100, then thesystem manager 300 may adjust the cost score for that lead portal 135 upto a higher value, thereby reflecting the additional “cost” of acceptingleads from that portal 135. Alternatively, the system manager 300 mayadjust a cost score down to reflect a business advantage of acceptingleads from a given lead portal 135 or where the leads are shown to be ofa higher quality resulting in a higher sales ratio, such that a higherprice might be requested for the leads.

As another example, if a single entity owns both the multi leaddistribution system 100 and one or more of the lead intermediaries 140,then the system manager 300 may use the control/configuration module 310to access and adjust the revenue scores of the commonly owned leadintermediaries 140 in order to reflect a business advantage offorwarding leads to those lead intermediaries. As a reminder, marginscore=revenue score−cost score. As will be described with reference toFIGS. 8A-8F, the margin scores are used for selection of destinationpairings for each placement levels for the lead. By adjusting revenuescores upwards, the margin scores calculated for a given lead will behigher and will more likely result in a sale to the lead intermediarywith the adjusted revenue score.

In some embodiments, some or all of the functions of the system manager300 may be carried out by a person, or group of persons, interactingwith the control/configuration module 310. In other embodiments, some orall of the functions of the system manager 300 may advantageously becompletely or partially automated. The automated system manager 300 maybe included, in whole or in part, in the control/configuration module310, or may include some or all of the control/configuration module 310.For example, the system manager 300 may be a computer-implementedmodule, which may use Artificial Intelligence to automatically identifydesired score modifications using learned algorithms based on input overthe course of dealings with the lead portals 135, the leadintermediaries 140, and the suppliers 150, such as percentage of salescompleted based on leads from each portal, and the like. Such learnedalgorithms may be based on one or more of a variety of methods,including, but not limited to: fuzzy logic, neural networks, geneticalgorithms, rule-based systems, statistical analysis, and the like. Theautomated system manager 300 may be configured to access thecontrol/configuration module 310 to implement the modifications.

In some embodiments, in addition to modifying scores and other decisionfactor values used by the destination selection/scoring module 303, thecontrol/configuration module 310 may also be used by the system manager300 to “register” a new lead portal 135 or lead intermediary 140 withthe multi lead distribution system 100. Such registration advantageouslyincludes entering information about the new lead portal 135 or the newlead intermediary 140 that may include, but is not limited to:contracted agreements, business rules and preferences, and businessaffiliations. Similarly, the control/configuration module 310 may alsobe used by the system manager 300 to subsequently update contractual andother information related to existing relationships with lead portals135 and/or lead intermediaries 140. In various embodiments, an onlineform 900, such as the one depicted in FIG. 9 may be used to access andmodify the decision factor data stored in the repositories.

As mentioned above, the multi lead distribution system 100 may furtherinclude the log of historical lead information 309, with informationabout leads that have been offered to and have been sold by the multilead distribution system 100. Information in the historical lead log 309may be useful to the system 100 for billing and payment purposes, fortracking the performance of leads from various lead portals 135, and forother managerial purposes.

Although, for ease of description, the multi lead distribution system100 has been depicted in FIG. 3A as receiving leads from a single leadportal 135, the multi lead distribution system 100 is advantageouslyconfigured to receive leads from a plurality of different lead portals135 at least approximately simultaneously.

Although the multi lead distribution system 100 has been depicted inFIG. 3A, as comprising a given configuration of modules and datarepositories, in other embodiments, the functions of these modules anddata repositories may be carried out by a different configuration ofmodules and data repositories. For example, although FIG. 3A, for easeof description is illustrated as having five discrete data repositories305, 306, 307, 308, 309, in other embodiments, one or more of therepositories may be combined and/or the data repositories may beconfigured as a single interrelated repository, such as a relationaldatabase. Furthermore, although the repositories 305, 306, 307, 308, 309of FIG. 3A are depicted as being housed internally to the multi leaddistribution system 100, in other embodiments, some or all of one ormore of the repositories may be housed externally or may be configuredas a distributed system.

FIG. 3B is a block diagram that illustrates one embodiment of a logicalcomponent overview of a multi lead distribution system 100. The logicalcomponents depicted in FIG. 3B provide functionality at a lead enginelayer 320, a coverage layer 330, and an administrative layer 340, aswill be described in greater detail. Furthermore, each of the layers320, 330, 340, includes components that provide user interfacefunctionality 350 for the layer, components that provide the corefunctionality of the layer 360, components that provide logical accessto associated data 370, as well as data persistence systems 380 forproviding access to the associated data as it is physically stored innon-volatile memory, or, in the case of the lead engine level 320, as itis accessible via Internet or other computer network connection.

In a preferred embodiment, as depicted in FIG. 3B, the multi leaddistribution system 100 is configured as a table-driven application thatadvantageously allows for implementing a policy-driven system, asillustrated in the example depicted in FIGS. 8A-8F. The system 100 isdesigned to accommodate ongoing change without need for rebuilding orfor hard coding in system factors. The system uses a set of rules todescribe specific policy goals and associated tables of data that areaccessed in real time to implement those policy goals. Thus, the systemlets changes in policy be applied in a simple, localized way that avoidsor substantially reduces major recompilation and system builds.

In particular, the administrative layer 340 takes advantage of thissystem architecture to allow for frequent analysis and reconfigurationof the system business rules and policies that govern selection of a setof lead intermediaries 140 and/or suppliers 150 to whom to mostadvantageously route each lead. As depicted in FIG. 3B, theadministrative layer comprises a provider administrator that overseesregistration and input data reflective of contractual agreementsregarding the lead portals 135. The administrative layer 340 furthercomprises a lead engine tester that tests lead pings and posts, and, insome embodiments, is advantageously configured to run ‘what-if’simulations to assess the effects on profitability and overall systemfunctionality of making individual policy changes in the form ofmodifications to blocking and selections rules used by the leaddistribution engine. The administrative layer 340 further comprises alead engine observer that allows for real-time observations of thefunctioning of the multi lead distribution system 100, a lead engineselector administrator that provides the system manager 300, describedwith reference to FIG. 3A, with an ability to implement the policies andbusiness rules by manipulating values associated with the lead portals135, the lead intermediaries 140, and the suppliers 150 that are storedin the system's data repositories 305, 306, 307, 308, which are alsodepicted in the data persistence layers of FIG. 3B. These componentsaccess a data cache in the administrative tool data layer which providesaccess to the associated stored data.

The coverage layer 330 of FIG. 3B is included as an example of a multilead distribution system 100 that also carries out some or all of thefunctions of a lead intermediary 140 for a lead. Coverage may refer togeographical, product line, or other types of coverage relevant to leadsof different types. For example, in the automobile lead industry, thegeographical location of suppliers 150, as well as makes of newautomobile sold are both relevant to distribution of the lead. Thecoverage layer 330, amongst other functions, stores information aboutand identifies suppliers 150 who are located within a specifiedgeographical distance from a consumer 120 and/or who carry a requestedautomobile make as requested by the consumer associated with the lead.In some embodiments, inventory information about the suppliers 150 maybe stored and accessed, allowing for identification of suppliers 150with used automobiles of various makes, as well. The coverage layer 330may additionally identify suppliers who have contracted with one or moreintermediaries 140 for exclusive access to leads received through theone or more intermediaries 140 for a given geographical area, such aswithin one or more agreed upon zip code areas. In other lead markets,the coverage layer may operate to identify suppliers 150 and/or leadintermediaries 140 according to another relevant notion of coverage.

The coverage layer 330 may additionally or alternatively providefunctionality associated with individual suppliers 150, such as trackinga number of leads routed to each supplier 150 within a given timeperiod, so leads routed to suppliers 150 with, for example, monthly leadquotas may be advantageously managed. In preferred embodiments, thequota information associated with the suppliers 150 is updateddynamically, so that leads may be advantageously routed based on mostcurrent information.

The embodiment of the lead engine layer 330 depicted in FIG. 3B is basedon a software component architecture that extends a web servicesinterface for customers wanting to invoke the services of the multi leaddistribution system 100. As depicted in the lead engine logic layer, avalidation logic component that may be in communication with theInternet is invoked to validate an incoming lead ping or post. A leaddestination collector logic component, also in communication with theInternet, as well as being configured to access an internal data cache,identifies a set of candidate destinations to which to offer an incominglead ping or post. A lead fulfillment and disposition manager logiccomponent carries out completion of a lead post transaction with a leadportal 135 and one or more lead intermediaries 140 and/or suppliers 150.

A lead logger component logs data about lead ping and post transactions,including information about dates and times at which the transactionsoccurred and what blocking and selection operations were carried out inidentifying a set of destination to which to offer the lead. The loggedinformation, stored in the historical lead log, as shown in the leadengine persistence layer and depicted in FIG. 3A as repository 309,provides raw base data for simulations that may be carried out by thesystem manager 300 to compare actual system performance withhypothetical performance based on system parameter modifications. Thisability to play back a modified version of system performance may beused as a marketing point with lead portals 135 and/or leadintermediaries 140 that wish to optimize the profitability of theirlead-related transactions with the multi lead distribution system 100.

Although the logical component overview of the multi lead distributionsystem 100 has been depicted in FIG. 3B, as comprising a givenconfiguration of modules and data repositories, in other embodiments,the functions of these modules and data repositories may be carried outby a different configuration of modules and data repositories.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram that illustrates a flow of data in associationwith one embodiment of a multi lead distribution system 100. As depictedin FIG. 4, the data flow begins at data transfer 405 when the consumersubmits a request for product information, including lead information,to a lead portal 135. At data transfer 410, the lead portal 135 usespartial lead information of the product information request to ping themulti lead distribution system 100. The lead portal interface module 301of the multi lead distribution system 100 performs one or morevalidation operations on the incoming ping information in an attempt todetect and eliminate fraudulent or otherwise unusable lead information.

At data transfer 415, the multi lead distribution system 100 forwardsthe ping to an initial set of lead intermediaries 140 identified by thedestination collection module 302. Note that some suppliers 150 may alsobe pinged directly 417 at this point. At data transfer 420, the leadintermediary 140 pings one or more suppliers 150 and/or other leadintermediaries 140 to inquire about their interest in purchasing thelead, and in data transfer 425, the suppliers 150 and/or other leadintermediaries 140 respond to the ping with an indication of theirinterest regarding the associated lead. At data transfer 430, the leadintermediaries 140 report back to the multi lead distribution system 100about the suppliers' interest in the lead.

As an alternative, in some embodiments, one or more of the leadintermediaries 140 stores information about the suppliers 150 to whomthey sell leads. One or more of the lead intermediaries 140 may then beable to assess the potential interest of one or more suppliers 150 withrespect to the lead without need to contact the supplier 150 to inquire.At the alternative data transfer indicated by the dashed line 423, thelead intermediary 140 may report directly back to the multi leaddistribution system 100.

Once the destination collection module 302 of the multi leaddistribution system has received information about lead intermediaries140 and suppliers 150 interested in the lead, the destinationselection/scoring module 303 performs a series of operations on a listof lead intermediary/supplier pairings in order to identify a preferredset of lead intermediary/supplier pairings, also referred to herein as“destination pairings” to whom to sell the lead. In particular, thedestination selection/scoring module 303 performs some exclusion rulesto filter the list and to eliminate some of the potential recipients ofthe lead. The destination election/scoring module 303 further performsscoring to compare the various lead intermediary/supplier pairings andselection to identify a preferred set of lead intermediary/supplierpairings that attempt to maximize perceived benefit, both monetary andnon-monetary, from the sale of the leads.

At data transfer 435, in some embodiments, the lead portal interfacemodule 301 of the multi lead distribution system sends a list of thecandidate suppliers 260 to the lead portal 135 for approval by the leadportal 135 and/or by the consumer 150. In other embodiments, the multilead distribution system 100 simply sends to the lead portal 135 anindication of its interest in purchasing the lead. In such a case, ifthe lead portal 135 already has access to the consumer's full contactand lead information, the lead portal 135 can directly post the leadcontact information, as indicated by dashed line 438.

In other embodiments, the lead portal interface module 301 may transmitback to the lead portal 135 a subset of supplier information 260 as anindication of its interest in purchasing the lead. In other embodiments,the information transmitted back to the lead portal 135 may contain areservation number that carries with it a preferred placement of thatlead for a limited time.

At data transfer 440, the lead portal 135 renders a web page foraccepting the consumer's 120 contact information. At data transfer 445,the consumer 120 enters the contact information into the webpage forsubmission to the lead portal 135 (if this information has not alreadybeen entered). In embodiments where the consumer 120 is given anopportunity to indicate which, if any, suppliers 150 may not receive theconsumer's contact information, data transfer 445 may also includeinformation about the selected one or more suppliers 150. Note that ifno further information is needed from the consumer 120, it is notnecessary to contact the consumer at this point and this step may beeliminated as pointed out above.

At data transfer 450, the lead portal 135 posts the lead with fullinformation for transmission to the multi lead distribution system 100.The multi lead distribution system 100 accepts the post and againvalidates the information in an effort to identify and eliminatefraudulent leads. In some embodiments, a separate backend process orcontracted service may be used to identify and eliminate leads from thesame consumer and for the same product that have been previously posted.

Once the post is validated, the multi lead distribution system 100inquires in data transfer 455 to see if the lead intermediary 140 isstill interested in the lead. If the lead has posted in only a veryshort time, such as seconds or only a few minutes, after the lead ping,then the likelihood is very high that a lead intermediary 140 orsupplier 150 who indicated initial interest in the ping would still beinterested in the post. However, if the consumer 120 let the webpagethat requests the full contact information sit for an extended period oftime, the chances increase that the lead intermediary 140 and/orsupplier 150 will have already accepted another lead that keeps themfrom being interested or available for the lead post.

At data transfer 460, the lead intermediary 140 confirms to the multilead distribution system 100 its continued interest in receiving thelead. The multi lead distribution system 100 re-performs its exclusion,scoring, and selection functions using up-to-date information in orderto identify the intermediary/supplier pairings to which it wishes tosell the lead.

At this point, the multi lead distribution system 100 is ready tocomplete the transaction. In some embodiments, in data transfer 490, themulti lead distribution system 100 advantageously first attempts tocontact the consumer directly in any of a variety of ways based upon thecontact information provided to transmit a message about the postedlead. The multi lead distribution system 100 may use the success orfailure of the contact(s) 490 as a form of validation to check that theconsumer is authentic and that the lead is more likely, therefore, to bevalid. At data transfer 465, the multi lead distribution system 100posts the lead to the one or more selected lead intermediaries. At datatransfer 470, the lead intermediaries 140 posts the lead to one or moresuppliers 150. At this point, the supplier acknowledges to the leadintermediary 140 its acceptance of the lead and the lead intermediary140 acknowledges to the multi lead distribution system 100 itsacceptance of the lead. The multi lead distribution system 100acknowledges to the lead portal 135 that the lead has been posted indata transfer 480, and the lead portal 135 acknowledges the post to theconsumer 120 in data transfer 485.

In some embodiments, the multi lead distribution system 100 alsocontacts the selected suppliers 150 directly, as indicated withreference to data transfer 475, in which data about the lead, includingconsumer contact information and, in some embodiments, consumer commentsand/or other additional information, is forwarded to the suppliers 150.

Once the lead has posted, in data transfer 495, the multi leaddistribution system sends a record of the transaction to the historicallead log 309. In preferred embodiments, a record of the ping transactionis also sent to the historical lead log 309 by the multi leaddistribution system 100 at approximately the time of data transfer 435,when the multi lead distribution system 100 responds to the leadportal's ping.

Portions of the description associated with the block diagram of FIG. 4have been written, for ease of description, as if the multi leaddistribution system 100 communicates with only a single leadintermediary 140 and/or as if the lead intermediary 140 communicateswith only a single supplier 150. However, as has been explainedthroughout this disclosure, the multi lead distribution system 100communicates with one or more than one lead intermediary 140 based onthe candidate destinations identified for each lead ping and for eachlead post. Similarly, the lead intermediary 140 communicates with one ormore than one supplier 150, based on a possibility of interest inobtaining the lead on the part of the suppliers 150 to whom the leadintermediary 140 supplies leads. Although the multi lead distributionsystem 100 is depicted in FIG. 4 as communicating about a single leadwith a single lead portal 135, the multi lead distribution system 100preferably communicates with a plurality of lead portals 135, regardingone or more lead pings and lead posts each.

Furthermore, although, in some embodiments, the multi lead distributionsystem 100 posts the various postings of a given lead substantiallysimultaneously, in other embodiments, leads are posted at differenttimes. For example, when a lead portal 135 allows a lead to be soldmultiple times, the individual times may each be considered a “placementlevel”. The portal 135 may in some embodiments, charge a higher pricefor a first placement level than for subsequent placement levels. Insuch an embodiment, a first placement level post for a lead may beposted earlier than subsequent placement levels for the same lead. Forexample, a period of time, such as one minute, or one hour, or anotheramount of time, may lapse between posting the leads to the destinationsidentified for each placement level. Additionally, in such embodiments,a lead intermediary may be willing to pay more for a lead placementlevel with an earlier posting time and may accordingly be assigned aplurality of revenue scores for posts of various placement levels. Leadintermediaries may also be advantageously assigned a plurality ofrevenue scores in other embodiments for other reasons.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram that illustrates a sample set of relationshipsbetween a set of lead intermediaries 140 and a set of suppliers 150. Ashas been described above, lead intermediaries are entities that purchaseleads for use by or on behalf of suppliers 150 of the products and/orservices of interest.

The example depicted in FIG. 5 is drawn from the automobile leadindustry. However, the relationships described with reference to FIG. 5may also be applicable, with or without modifications, to other types oflead industries. In the case of FIG. 5, three lead intermediaries A-C511-513 are entities that operate online automobile lead aggregationservices for aggregating and selling leads, either directly orindirectly, to automobile dealers 521-524. The lead intermediarieslisted as examples in FIG. 5 are entities that may also operate leadportals 135 for generating leads from consumers 120. However, forpurposes of FIG. 5, we consider only the aspects of these entities thatperform the functions of lead intermediaries 140.

In FIG. 5, lead intermediary “D” 514 is an automobile manufacturer. Itis common in the automobile industry for manufacturers, or entitiesoperating on their behalf, to purchase and distribute leads to dealers521-524 who sell their products. This service may be provided to thedealers 521-524 by the manufacturer 514 for free, for a fee, or underanother type of business arrangement that is agreeable to the individualdealers 521-524 and the manufacturer 514. In some cases, an automobilemanufacturer may charge a lower price for leads that it forwards to itsown auto dealers than those auto dealers might have to pay if buying thelead from other types of lead intermediaries. In other industries, othertypes of entities, such as cooperative marketing groups, may,additionally or alternatively, operate as lead intermediaries for thesuppliers.

In some embodiments, some automobile lead intermediaries 140 may enterinto exclusive or semi-exclusive contracts with dealers from differentgeographical areas. Thus, a first lead intermediary 140 mayadvantageously agree that all leads that it receives from one zip codeor from a contiguous set of zip codes, for example, will be forwardedexclusively to a single dealer 150 or to a limited set of dealers 150. Asecond lead intermediary 140 may advantageously find it desirable,instead, or in addition, to sell the leads to more than one supplier150. The complexity that ensues from attempting to profitably andintelligently sell leads to a plurality of suppliers 150 isadvantageously handled by the multi lead distribution system 100 inaccordance with the embodiments disclosed herein.

In general, an auto dealer 521-524 may contract to purchase leads fromone or more automobile lead intermediaries 511-514 of any of a varietyof types in order to assist the dealer's sales personnel to identifybuyers currently interested in purchasing an automobile. An individualrelationship between an automobile dealer 150 and an auto leadintermediary 140 may advantageously specify a maximum number of leadsthat the lead intermediary 140 will provide to the auto dealer within agiven period of time, such as a maximum of two hundred leads per month,or some other number per month, or per other time period. This amount isreferred to herein as a “target” number of leads and is typicallyrelated to a maximum number of leads that the automobile dealershipexpects its sales force to be able to effectively process and respond towithin the given time period, such as per month. In some embodiments, aslightly modified agreement may specify that any number of leads sentbeyond the target number will be sent to the dealer at no cost or at amuch reduced cost. The lead intermediary 140 may typically attempt tosell the dealer 150 as close as possible to the target number of leadswithin the time period in order to maximize its own sale of leads. Insome embodiments, the target amount is also referred to as a “run stop”amount, and once the run stop amount of leads is reached for the timeperiod, more leads are generally not routed to the supplier 150.

Furthermore, the lead intermediary 140 may track the number of leadssold to a dealer on a day-by-day or other advantageous, incrementalbasis. The lead intermediary 140 may use a “smoothing algorithm” todistribute sales of leads to suppliers 150 relatively evenly over thegiven time period, thus providing improved customer service for thedealer. In some embodiments the target daily amount may be known as a“run rate.” The supplier's run rate may be calculated as a daily target,for example, or may accumulate over the course of a month so that asupplier 150 who has agreed to receive thirty leads per month shouldhave received approximately seven by the end of the first week. In someembodiments, if the supplier 150 in the example has already receivedseven or eight leads, no more leads will be routed to the supplier 150for at least another day, unless a lead is received from a lead portal135 that has permission to override the run rate exclusion, as will bedescribed in greater detail below.

An auto dealer 521-524 that chooses to aggressively pursue sales of itsautomobiles may contract to purchase leads from several automobile leadintermediaries 511-514. In FIG. 5, auto dealer “F” 522 has contracted toreceive leads from at least four lead intermediaries 511-514, while autodealer “H” 524 receives leads only from the manufacturer 514.

Typically, auto dealers will negotiate individually with the leadintermediaries 511-514 to determine the target number and the cost ofleads from that lead intermediary. Thus, on a given day, the dealer mayhave already received its target number of leads from a first leadintermediary but may be available for accepting additional leads from asecond lead intermediary from whom it has also contracted to receiveleads.

As an example, illustrated in part by FIG. 5, it is possible that themulti lead distribution system 100 may inquire from each of theautomobile lead intermediaries 511-514 whether there is interest inpurchasing a lead for a given make and model of car in a given zip code.It may be that, of all the dealers in the geographical area, only dealer“F” 522 has the desired make and model automobile and is interested inpurchasing the lead. If all four lead intermediaries 511-514 respondpositively to the multi lead distribution system 100, indicating thatthey could sell the lead to dealer “F” 522, and if all four leadintermediaries 511-514 have been assigned different revenue scores forthe leads they purchase from the multi lead distribution system 100, themulti lead distribution system 100 preferably determines to which leadintermediary 511-514 it will sell the lead to increase profit and otherbusiness advantages.

FIG. 6A is a block diagram that illustrates a set of selectionconsiderations for one embodiment of a multi lead distribution system100 in determining a preferred set of lead intermediary/supplier pairsto whom to distribute a lead. As has been described above, the multilead distribution system 100 sends a notification of a potential lead(ping) to a set of lead intermediaries 140 and receives back a responseindicating their tentative interest in purchasing the associated actuallead. In preferred embodiments, when the lead intermediaries 140indicate their interest, each lead intermediary 140 also sendsinformation identifying one or more suppliers 150 to whom the leadintermediary 140 is interested in selling the lead.

As was described with reference to FIG. 5, it is possible for a leadintermediary to provide leads to one or more than one supplier 150 whomay be interested in a given lead. Similarly, it is possible for asupplier 150 to be offered a lead of interest by more than one leadintermediary 140. FIG. 6A depicts a hypothetical instance of this typeof situation. In FIG. 6A, the lead intermediaries 140 who have expressedinterest in a potential lead are listed across the top of the figure insquares that are labeled with letters A-D. Below the square of each leadintermediary 140 is a set of four circles. Each circle represents apotential supplier/intermediary relationship. Circles with an enclosedasterisk symbol (*) indicate intermediary/supplier pairings in which norelationship is currently established. Each circle with a number insiderepresents a supplier 150 to whom the lead intermediary 140 is activelyinterested in providing the lead in question. Each circle is positionedto the right of a rectangle naming the supplier to which the circlecorresponds. Lead intermediary “A” is interested in providing the leadto supplier “1” and supplier “2.” Lead intermediary “D” is interested inproviding the lead to all of the suppliers 150 listed in FIG. 6A.

In the example of FIG. 6A, there are ten possible intermediary/supplierpairings that have established relationships and that may be interestedin the lead. However, some of the pairings include the same supplier150, and suppliers 150 typically do not want to receive the same leadtwice. As will be described with below, embodiments of the multi leaddistribution system 100 advantageously select a set of destinations foreach lead such that no two destination pairings include the samesupplier 150. In some embodiments, the multi lead distribution system100 distributes leads to intermediaries 140 who do not provideinformation about the suppliers 150 to whom they distribute their leads.In such embodiments, a lead that is routed to more than one intermediary140 may ultimately reach the same supplier 150 more than once.

Additionally, the multi lead distribution system 100 is typically notfree to provide the lead to every lead intermediary/supplier pair thatexpresses any willingness to purchase the lead. Instead, contractualagreements with the lead portal 135 and/or with the lead intermediaries140 may further limit the number of times the multi lead distributionsystem 100 may sell a lead or may limit to whom the lead can be sold.If, in the example of FIG. 6A, the multi lead distribution system 100 isable to sell the lead three times, the multi lead distribution system100 is configured to identify a set of lead intermediary/supplier pairsthat increases the profit or other business benefit to be earned fromthe sales. In preferred embodiments, the multi lead distribution system100 identifies each possible sale as a “placement level” and calculates,for each placement level, a desired lead intermediary/supplier pair,referred to herein as a “destination pairing,” to whom to sell the lead.In this example, there will be three placement levels.

The suppliers 150 depicted in FIG. 6A are listed in order of increasinggeographical distance from a zip code identified by the consumer 120.However, instead of simply selecting the set of geographically closestsuppliers 150, the multi lead distribution system 100 is able to selecta set that increases profits for the multi lead distribution systemwhile also accommodating business preferences of the lead portal 135 andlead intermediaries 140, and arguably providing the consumer with abetter experience, as will be described in greater detail below.

In the example of FIG. 6A, the numbers in the circles represent arevenue score assigned by the multi lead distribution system 100 to thecorresponding lead intermediary/supplier pair. Alternatively, the numbermay be seen to be indicative of the margin score of the leadintermediary/supplier pair, since the margin score for a leadintermediary/supplier pair equals the difference between their revenuescore and the cost score of the lead portal 135 offering the lead. Inpreferred embodiments, the cost score for a given placement level is thesame for all of the lead intermediary/supplier pairs, so destinationpairs with a higher revenue score will also have a higher margin scoreat each placement level.

The multi lead distribution system 100, in various embodiments,identifies a group of candidate destination pairings that is frequentlybased generally on geography and on an abbreviated set of leadinformation, such as that provided by a ping. Once the candidatedestination pairings have been identified, the multi lead distributionsystem 100 advantageously first takes profit and business advantage intoaccount in selecting the destination pairings to which the lead will beoffered and then factors in more precise geographical distance, providedthat other overriding contractual arrangements with the lead portal 135and/or lead intermediary 140 have not taken precedence. Thus, once aninitial set of candidate destination pairings has been identified,margin score may be used as a first determining factor in selecting apreferred set of destination pairings, and then geographical distanceused as a tie-breaker, if needed.

Using one embodiment of an algorithm for illustration with this example,at placement level “1,” either pair A/1 or pair B/1 would be selectedbased on their higher revenue score (20) and Supplier “1”s closeproximity to the consumer's zip code of choice. Once selected,destination pairings that include Supplier “1” are preferably excludedfrom further calculations. At placement level “2,” intermediary/supplierpair “A/2” would be selected with revenue score of 20 and a relativelyclose geographical distance. At placement level “3,”intermediary/supplier pair “B/N” would be selected, also at a revenuescore of 20.

It may be argued that, by this method, the consumer's contactinformation has been provided to a higher quality of suppliers 150 bythis method, even though Supplier “N” is geographically farther awayfrom the consumer's zip code than is Supplier “3.” Supplier “N” hasdemonstrated a greater interest in contacting and serving consumer needby establishing relationships with more lead intermediaries 140 andbeing willing to pay more for leads than is Supplier “3” who onlyreceives leads from the Intermediary “D” who sells leads to all thesuppliers 150 at relatively low prices.

FIG. 6B displays one embodiment of set of formulae that may be used bythe selection/scoring module 303 to help identify a preferred set ofintermediary/supplier pairs (also known as destinations, or destinationpairings) for receiving a lead. The formulae in FIG. 6B set forth aselection algorithm identifying a destination pairing based on marginscore for a first placement level, a second placement level, and for anysubsequent placement level.

Basically, the “selectedmargin” formulae state that the selectedintermediary/supplier pair for each placement level will be theintermediary/supplier pair (of those eligible for placement at thatplacement level) with the maximum margin score for the level (therevenue score of the lead intermediary 140 minus the cost of the leadportal 135 for that level). When the maximum margin score for the levelis a positive number, then a destination with that margin score isselected. In one embodiment, if more than one such destination exists,then one destination is selected from amongst the destinations with thehighest margin score by selecting the destination whose supplierlocation is the shortest geographical distance from zip code provided bythe consumer 120.

Describing the use of the algorithm in more detail, the procedure ofFIG. 6B may be described as follows for each of the placement levels:

First, identify a set of candidate destinations for the lead at thisplacement level.

Temporarily apply to the set of candidate destinations any placementlevel exclusion rules, such as blocking, as will be described in greaterdetail with reference to FIGS. 8A-8F.

Determine the supplier(s) 150 with the maximum positive margin. Themaximum positive margin for each intermediary/supplier pairing iscalculated as the difference between the revenue score of theintermediary/supplier pairing and the cost score of the lead portal 135for this placement level of the lead. This value is referred to as themaximum positive margin supplier.

Determine the supplier(s) with the maximum negative (smallest negativenumber) margin, which is defined as the difference between the revenuescore and the cost score.

If the maximum margin is negative or equal to zero and the businessrules of the data portal 135, as applied to the intermediary 140 and theplacement number, allow for a negative margin score, then this value isreferred to as the least loss margin.

If a maximum positive margin supplier exists, then select the maximumpositive margin supplier as first placement.

If the maximum positive margin supplier does not exist and the leastloss margin supplier exists, then select the least loss margin supplieras first placement.

Once a destination pairing has been selected for the first placementlevel, begin assembly of a set of candidate destinations for the secondlevel as follows: Eliminate all candidate destination pairings thatinclude the selected supplier from further placement eligibility, sothat the supplier is not offered the same lead more than once.

In some embodiments, a limit is placed on the number of times a leadintermediary may be offered a given lead for distribution. For suchembodiments, assembly of the set of candidate destinations for thesecond level continues as follows: Tally the number of times theselected intermediary 140 has been sent this lead for differentsuppliers 150. If the number of times the selected intermediary 140 hasbeen sold is greater than or equal to a lead sell maximum value,eliminate all intermediary/supplier pairings with the same intermediaryfrom further placement eligibility for this lead.

As depicted in FIG. 6B, the formulae are repeated in the same manner foreach time that the lead will be placed, each time selecting onedestination for the lead, then redefining the candidate list andreapplying the “selected margin” formula. At each placement level, the“selected margin” formula describes the calculations described withreference to FIG. 6A. The value “n” in the formulae refers to the numberof intermediary/supplier pairs in the candidate list.

The process is repeated for up to the maximum number of placementsallowed by the lead portal 135, unless one of the following terminationtriggers occurs: when no qualifying supplier (dealer) for this levelexists, or when the number of sales of the lead exceeds maximum, or whenzero potential candidate destinations remain.

As depicted in FIG. 6B, the algorithm can be repeated, with very littlemodification, for each placement level that has been permitted for agiven lead. Although this disclosure includes sample embodiments inwhich the algorithm is repeated three times or four times, the algorithmas written advantageously does not have a hard-coded upper limit oftimes that it may be run. The limitations come instead from the valuesstored by the system 100 with regard to the lead portal 135.

Furthermore, as described with reference to FIG. 6B and with referenceto FIGS. 8B-8F, the algorithm is described as iteratively selecting asupplier/intermediary pairing for each placement level, and ceasing tosearch for additional qualified suppliers when no qualifying supplierexists for at any given placement level. For example, once the selectionmodule 303 determines that no qualified destination exists for a LevelTwo placement, no additional placements are attempted, even if fourplacements are allowed by the lead portal. Instead, the lead portalinterface module 301 sends a response to the lead portal 135 indicatingthat only one placement of the lead will be made. In this type ofembodiment, if no Level One placement is found, the lead is declined.

In other embodiments, the destination selection/scoring module 303 maybe configured to assess cumulative margin scores for candidatedestination pairings at all available placement levels beforedetermining whether to terminate placement, and before determiningwhether to accept or to decline the offer of the lead. As an example,consider a lead that is available with a cost score of 13 for a firstplacement and 6 for two additional placements. If only two destinationpairings, each with a revenue score of 12.50, are interested in thelead, rather than declining the lead due to a negative Level One marginscore, the destination selection/scoring module 303 may be configured todetermine that two placements of the lead would have a cumulative costscore of 19 (13+6) and a cumulative revenue score of 25 (12.50+12.50).The cumulative margin score is thus 6 (25−19). This embodiment of themulti distribution lead system 100 may thus be able to generate amonetary and/or business-related benefit for accepting two placements ofthe lead.

As will be familiar to one of ordinary skill in the art, in light of thepresent disclosure, additional modifications may be made to theselection and scoring algorithms of the system 100 within the intendedscope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7A is a flow chart that depicts one embodiment of a process 700 foridentifying a preferred set of candidate intermediary/supplier pairs(destinations) for a potential lead received from a lead portal 135. Asdepicted in FIG. 7A, the process begins at block 705 when the leadportal interface module 301 of the multi lead distribution system 100receives notification of a potential lead, known in some lead industriesas a ping. The potential lead advantageously includes an abbreviated setof information indicative of the consumer's interest and very generalcontact information, such as a zip code.

In block 710, the lead portal interface module 301 validates thepotential lead, using any of a variety of validation techniques,including, for example, checking for invalid zip codes. In someembodiments, if the potential lead is suspected of being fraudulent,duplicative, or otherwise unusable, the multi lead distribution system100 may return the potential lead to the lead portal 135 and/or may sendthe potential lead to a special service or program module for providingmore in-depth analysis. In some embodiments, potential leads are assumedto be valid without checking.

If the lead portal interface module 301 determines that the potentiallead does not appear to be fraudulent or unusable, the process passes toblock 715, where the destination collection module 302 identifies a setof candidate intermediaries for the potential lead. In one embodiment,the destination collection module 302 identifies the set of candidateintermediaries for the potential lead from one or more storedrepositories of information about lead intermediaries 140 and/or aboutsuppliers 150. For example, in one embodiment, information about a setof suppliers 150 served by each lead intermediary 140 is stored in thelead intermediary information repository 306 together with locationinformation and product information (such as automobile makes sold) foreach supplier 150. Using this information, the destination collectionmodule 302 of the multi lead distribution system 100 identifies leadintermediaries 140 that serve one or more suppliers 150 appropriate forthe lead and sends ping information to the identified leadintermediaries 140.

In another embodiment, the destination collection module 302 identifiesa set of candidate intermediaries for the potential lead by sending thepotential lead to all or a large group of the lead intermediaries 140with whom the multi lead distribution system 100 has establishedrelationships. The destination collection module 302 waits to receiveresponses from the lead intermediaries 140 that are indicative of theirinterest or lack thereof with regard to the potential lead.

In one automotive-based embodiment, the destination collection module302 checks internally stored information regarding the suppliers 150with which the multi lead distribution system 100 has establishedrelations to identify suppliers 150 within a desired geographical radiuswho sell a desired make of automobile to include as candidatedestinations. In addition, the multi lead distribution system 100 pingsall or some of the intermediaries 140. Intermediaries 140 who respondpositively to the ping may be included in the set of candidatedestinations.

In some embodiments, if the intermediary 140 responds with a list of oneor more suppliers 150 to which the intermediary wishes to distribute thelead, the intermediary/supplier pairings are included with the othercandidate destination pairings. If the intermediary 140 replies withoutlisting a supplier 150, the intermediary 140 is temporarily blocked andset aside with a group of “wholesale destinations” which will beconsidered only if no suitable destination pairings are identified bythe selection algorithm.

In still other embodiments, other methods for identifying a candidategroup of destination pairings for a potential lead from which to selecta preferred subset to whom to sell the associated lead may be used.

In block 720, the destination selection/scoring module 303 filters thelist of candidate destinations for the potential lead, taking intoconsideration a set of one or more factors associated with the leadintermediaries 140, the suppliers 140, and/or the lead portal 135. Insome embodiments, the factors may also include factors that are relatedto the candidate lead intermediaries 140 and/or the candidate suppliers150 and that are set forth by the system manager 300 to modify theoperational behavior of the multi lead distribution system 100. Theprocess of block 720 will be discussed in greater detail with referenceto FIG. 7B to follow.

Once the candidate set of destination pairings has been filtered byrules from the suppliers and/or intermediaries, a preferred set ofdestinations is identified, one pair per each placement level agreedupon with the lead portal 135. In one embodiment, all possible subsetcombinations of the desired size (the agreed-upon number of sales of thelead) from the set of candidate destinations are identified, such as,for example, all possible combinations of four destinations. Theidentified subset combinations are analyzed, and a preferred set of thedestinations that provides a desired level of profit and businessadvantage is selected.

In a preferred embodiment, the election/scoring module 303 fills eachplacement level in turn, in order to advantageously limit the complexityof the analysis and to thereby more quickly identify a preferred set ofdestination pairings. In this preferred embodiment, in order to identifythe intermediary/supplier pairs, a set of functions 730 is carried outiteratively for each placement level.

Beginning in block 731 the destination list is filtered by “sourcerules” associated with the lead portal 135. For example, in someembodiments, a low quality level associated with the lead portal mayexclude the portal's lead from being offered by the multi leaddistribution system 100 to suppliers 150 who are at or very near theirdaily target “run rate” or monthly “run stop” quotas. As anotherexample, if a margin score associated with a destination pairing isnegative for a current placement level, and if negative margins are notallowed for this destination pairing and this placement level, thedestination pairing may be excluded from the selection at this placementlevel.

In block 732, the selection/scoring module 303 calculates a margin scorefor each candidate destination pairing that was not filtered out inblock 731. As described above, the margin score is calculated as thedifference between the revenue score for the lead intermediary 140associated with the destination pairing and the cost score for the leadportal 135 for this placement level.

In block 733, once a margin score for each of the remaining candidatedestination pairings has been calculated for the current level, apreferred candidate destination pairing for this placement level isselected.

The selection/scoring module 303 repeats set of functions 730 for eachplacement level to be filled. Thus, if the lead portal 135 allows foreach of its leads to be sold four times, then four placement levels willbe filled and the set of functions 730 will be carried out four times.

Once all of the placement levels have been filled, in block 740, thelead portal interface module 301 responds to the ping notification byindicating to the lead portal 135 whether or not it is interested inpurchasing the lead based on whether or not suitable destinationpairings for the ping were identified. In embodiments where the lead maybe sold more than once, the multi lead distribution system 100 mayindicate to the lead portal 135 how many uses of the lead it would liketo purchase. Additionally, in some embodiments, the multi leaddistribution system 100 may provide to the lead portal 135 a list of thesuppliers 150 who are associated with the selected destinations.

In block 745, the multi lead distribution system 100 provides a recordof the ping transaction to the historical lead log 309.

If the lead portal 135 wishes to proceed with sale of the lead, theprocess 700 passes on to a lead post process 750, which is describedwith reference to FIG. 7C below.

FIG. 7B is a flow chart that depicts a more detailed view of oneembodiment of a process 720 for filtering a set of candidateintermediary/supplier pairs that may be carried out by the destinationselection/scoring module 303. The process 720 is carried out for eachintermediary/supplier pairing.

In block 721, the process 720 determines, for those suppliers 150 forwhich monthly lead target (run stop) information is available, whetheror not the supplier's run stop amount has been reached. If thesupplier's run stop amount has been reached, the process 720 passes toblock 727 and the intermediary/supplier pairing is excluded from thecandidate list for this lead.

If the supplier's run stop amount has not yet been reached, the process720 passes to block 722. In block 722, the process 720 determines, forthose suppliers 150 for which daily lead (run rate) information isavailable, whether or not the supplier's run rate amount has beenreached. In some embodiments, run rate is expressed as an actual numberof leads routed to the lead supplier 150 to date for the period. Inother embodiments, the run rate is expressed as a run rate score. If thesupplier's run rate amount has been reached and if no rules allowing arun rate override have been invoked, the process 720 passes to block 727and the intermediary/supplier pairing is excluded from the candidatelist for this lead.

If the supplier's run rate amount has not yet been reached, or if a runrate override is involved, the process 720 passes to block 723. In block723, the process 720 determines whether or not the system 100 allowsleads from this lead portal 135 to be routed to thisintermediary/supplier pairing. If the system 100 does not allow leadsfrom this lead portal 135 to be routed to this intermediary/supplierpairing, the process 720 passes to block 727 and theintermediary/supplier pairing is excluded from the candidate list forthis lead.

If the system 100 allows leads from this lead portal 135 to be routed tothis intermediary/supplier pairing, the process 720 passes to block 725.In block 725, the process 720 determines whether or not theintermediary/supplier pairing accepts leads from portals of the qualitylevel that is assigned to the lead portal 135. If the system 100 doesnot allow leads from a portal of this quality to be routed to thisintermediary/supplier pairing, the process 720 passes to block 727 andthe intermediary/supplier pairing is excluded from the candidate listfor this lead.

If the intermediary/supplier pairing does accept leads from portals ofthis quality level the process 720 passes to block 728 and theintermediary/supplier pairing is retained on the candidate list for thislead. The process 720 passes on to block 731 of process 700 in FIG. 7A.

Process 770 from FIG. 7C is executed in the same manner as has beendescribed with reference to process 720, although process 720 is appliedto a lead ping, and process 770 is applied to a lead post.

FIG. 7C is a flow chart that depicts one embodiment of a process 750 foridentifying a preferred set of intermediary/supplier pairs for a lead,which may occur, in some embodiments, if the lead portal 135 wishes toproceed with sale of the lead after acceptance of the lead ping inprocess 700, as described above with reference to FIG. 7A.

In block 755, the lead portal interface module 301 of the multi leaddistribution system 100 receives consumer contact information associatedwith the lead post from the lead portal 135. In some embodiments themulti lead distribution system 100 also receives an indication of one ormore candidate suppliers 150 selected by the consumer. The consumercontact information and other accompanying information constitute, atleast in part, the lead post available for purchase by the multi leaddistribution system 100.

As was described with reference to FIG. 4, in preferred embodiments, thelead post is validated by the lead portal interface module 301, andcandidate destinations are filtered and scored by the selection/scoringmodule 303, in much the same manner as was carried out for the lead pingin order to advantageously take into account any changes that may haveoccurred since the associated lead ping was processed. For example, oneor more suppliers 150, who expressed an interest in receiving the lead,in response to the associated ping, may have accepted one or more leadsfrom other sources in the meantime and may no longer be currentlyinterested in receiving additional leads. They may therefore decline thepost.

In block 760, the lead portal interface module 301 validates the leadpost, using any of a variety of validation techniques, including, forexample, checking for invalid zip codes, names of famous persons,obscene words, invalid characters, or the like. In some embodiments, ifthe lead post is suspected of being fraudulent or duplicative, the leadportal interface module 301 may return the lead post to the lead portal135 and/or may send the lead post to a special service or program modulefor providing more in-depth analysis. In some embodiments, lead postsare assumed to be valid without additional checking.

If the lead portal interface module 301 determines that the lead postdoes not appear to be fraudulent or duplicative, the process passes toblock 765, where the destination collection module 302 identifies a setof candidate intermediary/suppliers for the lead post. In oneembodiment, the destination collection module 302 identifies the set ofcandidate intermediary/suppliers for the lead post from one or morestored repositories information about lead intermediaries 140 and/orabout suppliers 150. For example, in one embodiment, information about aset of suppliers 150 served by each lead intermediary 140 is stored inthe lead intermediary information repository 306 together with locationinformation and product information (such as automobile makes sold) foreach supplier 150. Using this information, the destination collectionmodule 302 of the multi lead distribution system 100 identifies leadintermediaries 140 that serve one or more suppliers 150 appropriate forthe lead and sends lead post information to the identified leadintermediaries 140.

In another embodiment, the destination collection module 302 identifiesa set of candidate intermediaries for the lead post by sending the leadpost to all or a large group of the lead intermediaries 140 with whomthe multi lead distribution system 100 has established relationships.The destination collection module 302 waits to receive responses fromthe lead intermediaries 140 that are indicative of their interest orlack thereof with regard to the lead post. In still other embodiments,other methods for identifying a candidate group of destinations for alead from which to select a preferred subset of destinations to whom tosell the lead may be used.

In block 770, the destination selection/scoring module 303 filters thelist of candidate destinations for the lead, taking into consideration aset of one or more rules associated with the lead intermediaries 140and/or by the suppliers 140 in establishing the relationship with themulti lead distribution system 100. In some embodiments, the filterrules may also include rules that are related to the candidate leadintermediaries 140 and/or the candidate suppliers 150 and that are setforth by the system manager 300 to modify the operational behavior ofthe multi lead distribution system 100. The process of block 770 isanalogous to the process of block 720 from FIG. 7A and which wasdiscussed in greater detail with reference to FIG. 7B above.

Once the candidate set of destination pairings has been filtered byrules from the suppliers and/or intermediaries, a preferred set ofdestination pairings is identified, one pair per each placement levelagreed upon with the lead portal 135. In one embodiment, all possiblesubset combinations of the desired size (the agreed number of sales forthe lead) from the set of candidate destinations are identified. Thesubset combinations are analyzed, and a preferred set that provides adesired level of profit and business advantage is selected.

In a preferred embodiment, the destination selection/scoring module 303fills each placement level in turn, in order to advantageously limit thecomplexity of the analysis and to thereby more quickly identify apreferred set of destinations. In this embodiment, in order to identifythe intermediary/supplier pairs, a set of functions 780 is carried outiteratively for each placement level.

Beginning in block 781, destination selection/scoring module 303 filtersthe destination pairing list by source rules associated with the leadportal 135.

In block 782, the destination selection/scoring module 303 calculates amargin score for each candidate destination pairing that was notfiltered out in block 781. As described above, the margin score iscalculated as the difference between the revenue score for the leadintermediary 140 associated with the destination pairing and the costscore for the lead portal 135 for this placement level.

In block 783, once a margin score for each of the remaining candidatedestination pairings has been calculated, the destinationselection/scoring module 303 selects a preferred candidate destinationpairing for this placement level.

The destination selection/scoring module 303 repeats set of functions780 for each placement level to be filled. Thus, if the lead portal 135allows for each of its leads to be sold four times, then four placementlevels will be filled and the set of functions 780 will be carried outfour times.

Once all of the placement levels have been filled, in block 785, thelead fulfillment module 304 posts the lead including the consumercontact information to the selected lead intermediaries 140 and/ordirectly to one or more suppliers 150. In various embodiments, the leadmay be posted as an electronic mail notification, text message,facsimile, web-based notification, voice mail message, or othersimilarly expedited communication. In some embodiments, a paper (hardcopy) of the lead may be subsequently sent to the intermediary 140and/or to the supplier 150 for accounting and verification purposes. Insome embodiments, leads are sent on an individual basis, and in someembodiments, leads for a given intermediary and/or supplier may becollected over a period of time, such as over an hour or a day or a partof a day, and sent as a batch communication.

In block 790, the lead portal interface module 301 sends a confirmationof the lead post to the lead portal 135 and/or to the consumer 120.

In block 795, the multi lead distribution system 100 provides a recordof the post transaction to the historical lead log 309.

Although the processes 700, 720, 750 of FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C includefunctions that have been described, for clarity of description, asoccurring in a given order, in other embodiments of the processes, thefunctions may occur in another order or may be differently organized. Asone example, although the embodiment of the process 720 depicted in FIG.7B describes a set of decisions that are carried out for each candidatedestination pairing in turn, in other embodiments, each decision mayinstead be carried out for all of the candidate destination pairingsbefore going on to the next decision, which is also carried out for allof the candidate destination pairings, or, in another embodiment, forall candidate destination pairings that were not excluded by theprevious decision, and so forth. Similarly, in the processes 700, 750for which embodiments are depicted in FIGS. 7A and 7C, when destinationpairings are selected for each placement level, in processes 730 and780, the order of the constituent functions may be altered to suit theneeds of the multi lead distribution system 100.

Furthermore, other alterations to the embodiments depicted in FIGS.7A-7C may be implemented without departing from the scope of the multilead distribution system described herein. The monthly run stop targetrate may pertain to a different time duration and/or some blocks may becombined with others and/or omitted.

Other variations will become apparent to one of skill in the art uponreview of this disclosure and are contemplated as being included withinthe spirit and the scope of the invention disclosed herein.

FIGS. 8A through 8F depict a set of database tables 800, 820 thatillustrate the operations undertaken by the destinationselection/scoring module 303 of the multi lead distribution system 100in identifying a preferred set of lead intermediary/dealer pairings towhom to send a lead ping or to sell the lead post for this automobileindustry example.

FIG. 8A is a sample depiction of a database table 800 with an initiallist of potential lead intermediaries 810 to whom a lead may be offeredby one embodiment of the multi lead distribution system 100. In oneembodiment, this set may be selected by accessing stored informationabout vehicle makes and models and zip codes served by the intermediary140. The table 800 lists the set of lead intermediaries 140 who arepinged to determine their potential interest in purchasing the lead. Sixintermediaries 810 have been included in the table 800, along with theirrevenue scores 814, and an indication 812 as to whether they acceptleads from all lead portals 135. As indicated in column 812, a “NO”indicates that the lead intermediary does not accept leads from allportals and a “YES” indicates that the lead intermediary does acceptleads from all portals. The table 800 indicates that only leadintermediaries “5” and “23” accept leads from all portals. As indicatedin the Revenue Score column 814, the lead intermediaries 140 have beenlisted in order of decreasing revenue score.

Once the initial set of intermediaries 140 respond to the ping,preferably with a listing of one or more suppliers 150 each, theremaining set of interested candidate destinations(intermediary/supplier pairings) are processed by the destinationselection/scoring module 303 in order to identify a preferreddestination to which to route the potential (ping) or actual (post) leadfor each placement level. In particular, various blocking and exclusionroutines performed on the candidate destinations for each placementlevel further narrow the set of candidate destinations for eachplacement level. The margin scores of the remaining candidatedestinations are compared, and a destination with a preferred marginscore is selected, if one exists. The process is repeated for eachplacement level.

With regard to the blocking routines, the multi lead distribution system100 is advantageously configured to provide for a hierarchy of blockingrules that apply to the lead portals 135, the intermediaries 140, andthe placement levels, and that allow the system 100 to reflect a varietyof business rules of varying degrees of complexity. If desired, at leasta portion of the blocking rules may be included in the informationstored when a lead portal 135 establishes a relationship with the multilead distribution system. In this way, the system 100 accommodates thedifferent business rules of individual portals 135 when distributingleads from the different portals 135. Changes to the blocking rules maybe added by the system manager 300 at any time and/or may be invokedautomatically by the control/configuration module 310. As will beillustrated in part with reference to FIGS. 8B-8F, the table-drivenselection system of the multi lead distribution system 100 provides alogical structure for identifying an advantageous destination pairingfor each placement level of a lead, if one exists. This logicalstructure allows the MLD 100 to retain a high level of flexibility. Theconfiguration/control module 301, under the control of either a systemmanager 300 or a set of automated instructions, allows for manipulationof factors that interact with the logical structure of system exclusionsand blocking rules to direct system behavior.

In general, the blocking rules that apply to more complex relationshipsoverride blocking rules that apply to less complex relationships. In apreferred embodiment of the multi lead distribution system 100, threelevels of blocking exist: blocking based onPortal+Intermediary+Placement Level intersections, blocking based onPortal+Intermediary intersections, and blocking based on theIntermediary. As depicted the table below, if a blocking rule exists atthe relatively complex Portal+Intermediary+Placement Level, it overridesany other blocking rule settings. If no blocking rules exist at therelatively complex Portal+Intermediary+Placement Level, then blockingrules at the Portal+Intermediary take precedence over the rules that arebased on Intermediary alone.

TABLE 1 Blocking Rule Hierarchy Decision Table If Portal + If Portal +Resulting “Allow Intermediary + Level Intermediary If IntermediaryPlacement” Blocks allow Blocks allow Blocks allow Value per placementplacement placement Placement Level True any any True False any anyFalse Absent True any True Absent False any False Absent Absent TrueTrue Absent Absent False False

One example application of this hierarchy of blocking rules is describedwith reference to FIGS. 8B-8F to follow.

FIG. 8B is a depiction of a database table 820 which, in accordance witha preferred embodiment, is used to perform the selection and exclusionroutines that are used to identify one or more preferred destinationsfor an offered lead. These routines may also be described as resolutionroutines for the values in the database table 820. In the example, thelead intermediaries 140 from FIG. 8A have been pinged, and if interestedin purchasing the lead, have provided information about one or moredealers 150 to which they are interested in sending the lead. In FIG.8B, the table 820 is populated with basic information about theintermediary/dealer pairings that will remain the same throughout thevarious iterations for each placement level.

In the example, the lead portal 135 allows for placement of the leadwith up to four lead intermediary/dealer pairings. As will be described,an embodiment of the algorithm identifies a preferredintermediary/dealer pairing from amongst the entire set of availablepairings for a “first placement level.” Next, the algorithm iterativelyidentifies a preferred intermediary/supplier pairing for a “secondplacement level” from amongst the remaining intermediary/supplierpairings, and so forth, until all of the placement levels are full.

In FIG. 8B, each intermediary/dealer pairing also known as a“destination” is represented by one row in the table 820. The dealers150 are listed in the “supplier_name” column 821 in order of increasingdistance from the consumer's indicated zip code, as evidenced by thetravel_distance column 825 and the postal_code column 826. The leadintermediary of each pairing is listed in the Intermediary_ID column824. The example depicted in FIG. 8B is taken from a lead industry inwhich location of the supplier 150 is relevant to the placement of thelead. As has been described, in other embodiments, geographicalinformation is not used to select a destination for the lead.

Of the six intermediaries from FIG. 8A who were pinged, only five haveresponded with an indication of interest in the lead. Intermediary “7”has been eliminated for lack of interest in the lead. Of the remainingintermediaries, number “1” has submitted three potential dealers (inrows 1, 4, and 6). Intermediary number “3” has submitted one potentialdealer (in row 8). Intermediary number “5” has submitted one potentialdealer (in row 2). Intermediary number “23” has submitted two potentialdealers (in rows 5 and 7). Intermediary number “56” has submitted threepotential dealers (in rows 3, 9, and 10).

Two different intermediaries have indicated an interest in selling thelead to Matthews Ford. As illustrated in the Revenue Score column 822,the perceived price that will be paid will be different depending onwhich intermediary is allowed to sell the lead to Matthews Ford. (Adealer 150 generally has no interest in paying twice for the same lead,and allowing a lead to be sold twice to the same dealer would providepoor customer service.) Similar situations exist for Rose Ford Uptownand Rose Ford Downtown.

The amount in the revenue column 822 matches the revenue listed for thesame intermediary in FIG. 8A.

Columns 827 and 828 provide information about the target amount of leadsfor each of the dealers with respect to the paired intermediary. Thus,in Row “1,” Matthews Ford has contracted to have purchased eight leads(column 828) from Intermediary #1 by this time in the month, but theactual number of leads purchased (as shown in column 827) is nine. Thus,the intermediary is already over-target for that dealer and an exclusionbased on the “Run Rate/Run Stop” is indicated as “yes” (Y) in column834. It is to be noted that in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8A-8F, runrate and run stop are combined. In other embodiments, the two types ofexclusions are addressed separately.

The same dealer, Matthews Ford, has a very different situation in row“2” with respect to intermediary number #5. Here, columns 827 and 828indicate that the dealer has contracted to buy sixty leads fromintermediary number #5, but they have so far bought only four.Accordingly, the exclusion flag in column 834 is set to “N.” Similarly,for each of the destinations (rows), the values in column 834 reflectthe values in columns 827 and 828.

As depicted in FIG. 8B, the multi lead distribution system 100 does notinclude lead target information for the dealers identified by leadintermediary #56 (rows “3,” “9,” and “10”). No values occur in columns827 and 828, presumably because intermediary #56 is not affiliated withthe multi lead distribution system 100 and does not provide access tolead target information to the multi lead distribution system 100. Thus,in column 834, no exclusions based on target amounts are listed for leadintermediary #56.

FIG. 8B depicts a partially populated table 820, because no placementlevel data has yet been entered. With regard to the three levels ofblocking discussed with regard to Table 1. above, in FIG. 8B, only twoof the three levels of hierarchy are present, and thus no decision basedon the three levels of blocking can yet be made. Column 869 includes theblocking rule for the intermediary only, namely, the lowest priority ofblocking rule: can this destination receive leads if no higher levelrule overrides? Column 830 includes the blocking rule for theintermediary+lead portal, namely, the second lowest priority of blockingrule: can this intermediary receive leads from this portal? Since thetable of FIG. 8B shows the values populated into the table before anyplacement level values have been entered, no values are in place forColumn 831, which will hold the highest level blocking rule. Once Column831 is populated, Column 832 will include the decision table resultbased on columns 829-831.

In this example, as seen in column 835, no destinations are excluded bya quality level assigned to the lead portal 135. However, in someembodiments, various lead destination pairings may have a businesspreference, either temporary or long-term that excludes receipt of leadsfrom sources of given quality levels. In some situations thecontrol/configuration module 310 may set a temporary quality levelexclusion for a lead destination, such as, in order to reach an agreedupon average quality level of leads over a given time period.

Similarly, no destinations have blocked out leads for high demandvehicles (Column 836). However, in other examples, these types ofblocking rules may apply. In particular, some destinations do not wantto receive leads for cars that are, in any event, very easy to sell, andpossibly hard to stock. In cases where high demand vehicle exclusionsexist, an automobile make or model information from the ping is comparedto a current listing of high demand vehicles, resulting in the values incolumn 836. In some embodiments, the listing of high demand vehicles maybe determined by the intermediary 140 and/or by the supplier 150, andmay be stored in an associated repository 306, 307.

FIG. 8C is a depiction of the database table of FIG. 8B, now populatedfor a first placement level selection of a destination for the lead. Thevalues that have been added to Table 820 in FIG. 8C determine how theLevel 1 Placement dealer/intermediary pairing is selected. Several emptycolumns of Table 820 from FIG. 8B have been populated in FIG. 8C. Inparticular, the Current Placement Margin Score column 823 has beenfilled in with values representing the margin score for a first leadbeing sold from the lead portal 135. Although not explicitly listed inthe table 820, we can infer, as was described above, that the cost scorefor a first lead from this lead portal is “12” because the margin scoresin column 823 are all twelve less than the revenue score in column 822.

Columns 824-828 remain the same from FIG. 8B to FIG. 8C.

Column 831 has been populated based on the Intermediary+Portal+PlacementLevel blocking rule: does this intermediary accept leads from this leadportal 135 for this level of lead. As depicted in FIG. 8B, thedestination pairings that include supplier “23” or supplier “56” areblocked at this level. Using the decision rules from Table 1 above, andthe values in columns 829-831, column 832 is populated, and several ofthe destinations are thereby excluded for this placement level.

The value in column 833 indicates whether a negative margin score isallowed for a destination selected at this level. In this example, nonegative margin scores are allowed.

Column 837 includes a yes/no indicator that represents whether thedealer/intermediary pair is eligible for current placement at this level(currently Level 1), and is one of the columns that have been newlyfilled with values. The values in the Eligible for Current PlacementColumn 837 have been determined based on the exclusion values in Columns832-836. At each placement level, and for each pairing, if any of theexclusion values in Columns 832-836 is marked “yes”, then column 837 ismarked “No” to show that the pairing is not eligible for this placement.In this embodiment, only if all the columns 832 and 834-836 are marked“No”, signifying no exclusions, is the pairing eligible for a firstlevel placement. In addition, in this embodiment, for subsequentplacement levels, as will be described with reference to FIGS. 8D-8F,Column 838 indicates if the supplier 150 for each destination pairinghas already been placed. Thus, for subsequent placement levels, in orderto be a candidate for this placement, Columns 832 and 834-836 must bemarked “No” and Column 838 must be empty or marked “No” for the previouslevels.

Using this algorithm, only three rows (Rows “2,” “6” and “8”) are markedas being eligible for placement at this level. These are the candidatedestinations for the current placement level.

At this stage, the Level 1 algorithms described with reference to FIG.6B are invoked in order to select a destination for this level. Checkingcolumn 823 to see which of the eligible dealers has the highest marginscore in column 823, we see that Amir Ford in Row 8 has a revenue scoreof 10.50, which is higher than any of the other eligible rows.Accordingly, Columns 838 and 839 are modified to indicate that Amir Fordwill receive a lead via Lead Intermediary #3.

FIG. 8D is a depiction of the database table of FIG. 8C, now populatedfor selecting a second destination for the lead. For the Level 2Placement, the Margin Score values in Column 823 have been recalculatedto take into account a new cost score for a second purchase of a givenlead from this lead portal. We can see from the values in Column 823that the cost score for a second lead is ten, and that all of the valuesin column 823 are ten less than the corresponding values in column 822.

Again, Columns 824-828 remain the same as from FIG. 8B.

Using the algorithm as described with reference to FIG. 8C, several rows(Rows “2,” “3,” “6,” “7,” “9” and “10”) are marked as being eligible forplacement at this level. Checking column 823 to see which of thecandidate dealers has the highest margin score, we see that MatthewsFord in Row 2 has a revenue score of 11.00, which is higher than any ofthe other eligible rows. Accordingly, Columns 838 and 839 are modifiedto indicate that Matthews Ford will receive the lead via LeadIntermediary #5. As was described above, it is generally not acceptablefor a dealer from a destination that has been placed to be placed againwith another intermediary. Therefore, in this case, Column 838 is alsomodified to recognize that since Matthews Ford via Lead Intermediary #5(Row 2) was placed, then Matthews Ford via Lead Intermediary #1# (Row 1)is also marked as already placed, and is thus excluded from beingsubsequently placed.

FIG. 8E is a depiction of the database table of FIG. 8D now populatedfor selecting a third destination for the lead, in accordance with datastored about the intersection of each data portal 135, intermediary 140,and placement level.

In FIG. 8E, six destinations remain eligible as indicated in Column 837,namely, those listed in rows, 3, 5-7, and 9-10. However, of the six,five have negative margin scores, which are not allowed for many ofthem, leaving only rows 5-7 as eligible candidates. The margin scoreinformation in Column 823 again implies a cost score of 10.00, and RoseFord Downtown, in row 6, has the highest margin score of the threecandidates. Accordingly, Rose Ford Downtown with intermediary #1 (in row6) is selected for this placement level, and the same supplier, RoseFord Downtown with intermediary #23 (in row 7), is excluded from furtherplacement by being listed as already placed in Column 838.

FIG. 8F is a depiction of the database table of FIG. 8E now populatedfor selecting a fourth destination for the lead. In this iteration, allof the margin scores (in Column 823) for destinations that are eligiblefor this placement level (as noted in Column 837) are negative amounts.The values in Column 833 show that only one of the eligible destinationsallows for placement with a negative margin, namely Rose Ford Uptown,with Intermediary #23 (row 7). Although Rose Ford Downtown withIntermediary #1 (row 6) provides a much higher margin score, thatplacement is blocked by the run rate exclusion (see columns 827, 828,and 834).

In summary, the example of FIGS. 8A-8F made the following finalplacements:

TABLE 2 Final Lead Placements Placed Margin Intermediary Placement #Score Supplier Name ID 1 10.50 Amir Ford 3 2 11.00 Matthews Ford 5 310.00 Rose Ford Downtown 1 4 −1.00 Rose Ford Uptown 23

In addition, with regard to the remaining destinations, three wereexcluded because the supplier was placed through another intermediary,and three were excluded solely because of low margin scores.

FIGS. 8B-8F have provided a representation of one embodiment of a table820 used by the selection/scoring module 303 to perform a resolution ofdata values associated with selection of a set of one or moredestinations for a lead. As will be clear to one of ordinary skill inthe art, in light of the present disclosure, the format and content ofthe table 820 may be modified in any of a number of ways for variousother embodiments. In particular, the format of the table 820 ispresented for ease of description as part of the present disclosure. Inuse, as part of the computerized multi-distribution system 100, thetable 820 exists in any of a variety of advantageous processor-readableformats. In addition, although table 820 has been described as adatabase table 820, the data values used for the resolution processdescribed may be organized in any of a variety of other advantageousprocessor-readable configurations available now or in the future.

FIG. 9 is a screen shot that illustrates one embodiment of a controlconfiguration form 900 for managing embodiments of the multi leaddistribution system 100. The sample configuration form 900 of FIG. 9 maybe used by the system manager 300 to review and edit information aboutone of the lead portals 135, referred to in the screen as a “source.”Entering data about the lead portal 135 in the control figuration form900 of FIG. 9 updates data in the lead portal information repository 305and/or the control information repository 308 which is used in theselection and exclusion algorithms of the destination selection/scoringmodule 303 to identify the preferred set of intermediary/supplier pairsto whom to sell the lead. Thus, control configuration form 900 may beseen as one type of table that performs as part of a logicaltable-driven resolution system for identifying advantageous distributionoptions for business leads and other opportunities.

Advantageously, the control configuration screen form 900 may be filledout when a new lead portal 135 enters into a contract to send leads tothe multi lead distribution system 100. The form 900 may be updated whenthe lead portal 135 notifies the system manager 300 that there arechanges to one or more of the business rules recorded in the form. Theform 900 may also be updated under automated operation of thecontrol/configuration module 310 or when the system manager 300 wishesto modify one or more of the values, as will be described in greaterdetail below, in order to modify how the multi lead distribution system100 distributes and manages leads from the lead portal 135. Such changescan adjust the system's 100 behavior in order to increase profit and/orcan adjust the system's 100 behavior in order to implement one or moredesired business strategies. Changes to the data in the form 900 mayaffect how leads from the lead portal 135 are routed to leadintermediaries 140 and/or may affect whether leads from the lead portal135 are accepted by the multi lead distribution system 100.

As depicted in FIG. 9, the form advantageously provides space to recorda name and an identification number 905 for the lead portal 135. In someembodiments, a lead portal 135 may establish more than one “identity”with the multi lead distribution system 100 and may have different rulesthat apply to the each identity. For example, as seen in FIG. 9, a“product family” is listed as “new car.” In some embodiments, a leadportal 135 may advantageously establish different rules for its new carleads than for its used car leads or automobile financing leads. In someembodiments, the configuration forms 900 for the different identities ofthe lead portal 135 may be linked. In other embodiments, the identitiesare managed separately, as if the two identities were two separate leadportals 135.

The form 900 also records in sections 910, 915, and 920, informationabout the lead portal (known here as a source group) that applies, atleast in the form of default values that may be overridden by othersystem values, as will be explained below. For example, in section 910of the configuration form 900, information may be input and displayedregarding whether the lead portal 135 allows its leads to be soldmultiple times, and, if so, up to how many times. This information isused by the destination scoring/selection module 303 to determine howmany intermediary/supplier pairs to identify. In the example depicted inFIG. 9, the lead portal 135 named, NXB Lead Distribution System, allowsits leads to be sold up to four times.

In section 915, the form lists information about how the multi leaddistribution system 100 will respond to pings and to posts from the leadportal 135. The sample configuration form 900 of FIG. 9 indicates thatwhen the multi lead distribution system 100 responds to a ping, itshould include information about the dealers to whom the consumer'scontact information will be sent. In some embodiments, as was seen withreference to FIG. 2B, providing the supplier 150 information to theconsumer 120 allows the consumer to indicate on the full lead submissionform 240 to which of the suppliers 150 the consumer's contactinformation may be forwarded. In the example depicted in FIG. 9, a replyto an actual lead (post) may include confirmation information aboutacceptance of the post without including dealer information.

Section 920 of the form 900 includes information about an actual costfor purchasing leads from the lead portal 135 and an associated costscore, for each of the four sales of the lead agreed upon by the leadportal 135.

As depicted in the example of FIG. 9, the first use of a lead has a costscore of 12.00, while the three possible subsequent uses of the samelead may be purchased for less and have a cost score of 8.00 each. Thecost score in the example is equal to the actual cost. However, the costscore is a value that may easily and advantageously be modified by thesystem manager 300 to reflect any of a wide variety of businessconsiderations relevant to the system manager 300. For example, toenhance a likelihood of acceptance of leads from a given lead portal135, the system manager 300 may lower the cost score, thereby increasingthe margin score calculated for individual potential sales of leads fromthe lead portal 135. To decrease a likelihood of acceptance of leadsfrom a given lead portal 135, the system manager 300 may increase thecost score, thereby decreasing the margin score calculated forindividual potential sales of leads from the lead portal 135. Changingthe cost score assigned to a lead portal 135 may advantageously beeffected by the system manager 300 even when no change to the actualcost of leads obtained from the lead portal occurs. Thus, the systemmanager 300 may modify the behavior of the multi lead distributionsystem 100 while contractual agreements with the lead portal 135 remainunchanged, and, in fact, the lead portal 135 need not even know that thecost score has been changed. Furthermore, the costs score, as well asother modifiable values in the control configuration form 900, arevalues that may be used by the control/configuration module 310 tomodify the behavior of the multi lead distribution system 100 while themulti lead distribution system 100 remains online and in operation. Insome embodiments, modified values are entered into a cache in therepository of control information 309. Approximately, once an hour, oraccording to another advantageous schedule, the values used by thedestination selection/scoring module 303 are updated to include themodified values from the cache.

Section 920 of the configuration form 900 also includes informationabout a quality rank assigned to the lead portal 135. In the sampleconfiguration form shown in FIG. 9, the quality rank assigned to allfour levels (corresponding to the four times that each lead from theportal may be sold) is “AA.” In one preferred embodiment, lead portals135 are assigned a quality rank based, at least in part, on a perceivedlevel of the quality of leads provided by the lead portal 135.

For example, one method of assessing a level of quality of the leadportal's leads is based on telephone surveys that may be carried out atthree days after a lead from the lead portal 135 is posted, and again atten days after a lead from the lead portal 135 is posted. In the thirdday telephone surveys, the consumer 120 associated with a lead may becalled and asked about a level of satisfaction with the lead submissionprocess and whether one or more of the suppliers 150 has contacted theconsumer 120. At the ten-day telephone survey, the consumer 120 may becalled again and further asked whether a business transaction associatedwith the type of lead, such as a purchase, has taken place, and, if so,whether the transaction was with one of the suppliers 150 who receivedthe lead. These surveys could also be carried out using at least one ofa number of well known computer-implemented survey programs, such asthose accessible over the internet. The results may advantageously besupplied to the control/configuration module 310 of the multi leaddistribution system 100 and, in some embodiments, used automatically toadjust quality scores as appropriate.

From the point of view of the intermediaries 140 and suppliers 150 whopurchase leads, a lead of high quality is generally defined as a leadthat results in a sale and a lead portal 135 that consistently generatesleads with a higher frequency of associated sales may be considered tobe a quality lead portal 135. In some embodiments, quality level mayalso refer, for example, to an average price range of the productsassociated with leads from a given portal 135. Other factors, such asconvenience of doing business with the lead portal may also, in variousembodiments, contribute to a quality level assignment.

Suppliers 150 who have run stop and run rate limitations on the leadsthey receive may be willing to exceed their usual daily target amount ofleads in order to accept a lead from a lead portal that is know to be ofhigh quality. Accordingly, in a preferred embodiment of the multi leaddistribution system 100, lead portals are ranked according to a qualityrank or grade that is based, at least in part, on the assessment of thelead portal's quality, and may be advantageously used to acceleratedistribution of leads from high quality portals 135. For example, eachquality rank may be associated with a numerical multiplier value thatmay be applied to a candidate destination's run rate before the run rateexclusions of the exclusion/selection process are carried out. Thus, ifa supplier 150 has a target of three leads per day, and has alreadyreceived sixty leads by the twentieth day of the month, a newly incominglead with a numerical multiplier of 103% would temporarily “raise” therun rate to 61.8 for that lead, thereby avoiding a run-rate exclusion.With respect to the examples given in FIGS. 8B-8F, the lead portal'squality rank multiplier would be applied to the destination's run rateto calculate a temporary rolling target number of leads, as indicated inColumn 828, for a lead from this portal.

In one embodiment, the following quality grades may be assigned, eachwith an associated multiplier:

QUALITY RANK MULTIPLIER C 85% B 100% A 103% AB 125% AA 150%

In addition to the above-listed quality ranks, in one embodiment, aspecial quality rank of “ZZ” may be assigned to a top-performing one orvery few lead portals 135 that allows the exclusion/selection proceduresto ignore the run rates of candidate destinations, and to allow leadsfrom the specially ranked portals 135 to be considered for delivery tothe destinations until the destinations reach their run stop targetamounts. One way of implementing such a run rate override ranking is toassociate it with a very high multiplier, such as a multiplier of 1000%or even higher.

In some embodiments, the numerical multipliers are expressed as decimalnumber rather than as percentages. In still other embodiments, thenumerical multipliers may be expressed as fractions. In someembodiments, quality grade multipliers may alternatively or additionallybe applied to monthly run stop values, or to any other numericalblocking values used by the multi lead distribution system 100.

As depicted in FIG. 9, separate quality ranks may be assigned to thevarious placement levels that a lead portal 135 allows for its leads. Inpreferred embodiments, the control/configuration module 310 may beconfigured to advantageously modify one or more of the quality ranks inorder, for example, to accelerate or decelerate distribution of leadsfrom the lead portal 135. An ability to manipulate quality ranks, and tothereby manipulate the flow of leads of various desired qualities,allows the multi lead distribution system 100 to avoid having adisproportionate amount of leads from one type of lead source being sentto destinations. For example, some destinations provide a bonus, such asan extra payment, when they have been routed at least a threshold numberof leads within a given time period. For such a destination, if a veryhigh level of lead quality has been maintained during a given timeperiod, and the multi lead distribution system 100 is close to beingable to reach the threshold amount, it may be advantageous to allow agreater percentage of more abundant, lower quality leads to be routed tothe destination, to “salt the mix” while maintaining an acceptable levelof quality and increasing the number of leads to the destination.

In one embodiment, lead portals 135 assigned to one or more qualityranks may be temporarily further assigned by the system manager 300 tobe included in a target override group that may be allowed to override adestination's run stop amount.

In some embodiments, the control/configuration module 310 may beadvantageously configured to adjust quality levels over the course of amonth or other time period, such that, for example, if the month willend on a weekend, or other typically slow time for leads, the acceptanceof leads from specific lead portals 135 may be accelerated in advance ofthe end of the month by increasing the quality rank levels of thespecific lead portals 135. The multi lead distribution system 100advantageously allows for manipulation of these and other selectionfactors in order to modify system behavior. Changes made by theconfiguration/control module 310, such as by modifying a data value inthe form 900, may, in some embodiments, immediately begin affectingselections of destinations for leads and other opportunities distributedby the system 100. In some embodiments, changed data values areavailable to the selection/scoring module 303 within minutes or withinone hour or another advantageous time period.

The sample configuration form of FIG. 9 further comprises, in section925, data about lead intermediaries such as a revenue score for eachlead intermediary, which, as has been described above, may be modifiedby the control/configuration module 310. Such values are relevant toblocking that takes place on the destination level, as was depicted, forexample, in column 829 of FIGS. 8B-8F. In the example shown in FIG. 9,section 925 further includes blocking data that pertains to the leadintermediary 140, such as a maximum distance the intermediary will allowbetween its suppliers 150 and the zip codes received in the leads.Although the multi lead distribution system 100 has been described asassigning one revenue score per intermediary 140, in other embodiments,intermediaries may be assigned at least two revenue scores for twodifferent placement levels.

Section 930 describes overrides that apply to the lead intermediary andthe lead portal together, as were depicted in column 830 of FIGS. 8B-8F.Section 935 includes data relevant to blocking that takes place for thelead portal, the destination, and the placement level, as was depictedin column 831 of FIGS. 8B-8F.

Sections 925, 930, and 935 as described, have pertained to a single leadintermediary. In preferred embodiments, Sections 925, 930, and 935 arerepeated for each intermediary 140 to whom leads from the lead portalmay be delivered.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that theabove-described system may be straightforwardly adapted or extended invarious ways.

For example, although the system 100 has been described primarily as amulti lead distribution system, such as for multi-distributing businessleads for consumer automobile purchases, in other embodiments, thesystem 100 may advantageously be used for other types of distribution,such as distribution of real-time opportunities for web page advertisingspace. Using the logic resolution and ping system described herein, thesystem 100 provides opportunities to purchase advertising space tobusinesses interested in such advertising space (typically as a banneror similar placement space around the borders of a web page). Forpurposes of the present disclosure, the term “business” includes anyentity or sub-entity, including a government, individual, non-profit,political organization or charity that offers a service or a product orin any other way wants to reach out to others.

Referring back to FIGS. 1 and 2 for illustration, in one embodiment, thecontent provider 130 and the distribution system 100 have an establishedrelationship for the purpose of offering advertising space to aplurality of suppliers 150 of goods and/or services, as well as to oneor more intermediaries 140 who may purchase advertising space on behalfof the suppliers 150. The content provider 130 may offer severaladvertising placements, each with an associated cost score. For example,a banner ad space may be associated with a cost score of 0.30, askyscraper ad space may be associated with a cost score of 0.25, and alower placement ad space may be associated with a cost score of 0.15.The distribution system 100 stores this information as one or moreinitial cost scores associated with the content provider 130 in a manneranalogous to having various cost scores for different placement levelsof the same lead.

The consumers 120 access, via the Internet or other communicationsnetwork 125, one or more web pages or other web content 135 provided bythe content providers 130. The content provider 130, or an entity thathandles advertising on behalf of the content provider 130 pings theinterface module 301 of the distribution system 100 via the network 125with a lead about a real-time opportunity to purchase advertising spaceon the web page 135 currently being viewed by the consumer 120.

The lead received from the content provider 130 preferably includesinformation about the web page 135 being viewed and/or about theconsumer 120. To take an example from the automotive industry, the“ping” may include the following types of information: Page type (newcar buy, or research, or photos); Make (Acura), Model (MDX), Trim (withnavigation system), Location (Irvine, Calif.), Available ad placementlocations (1, 2, & 3).

The destination collection module 302 of the distribution system 100contacts or accesses stored information about one or more suppliers 150(such as Original Equipment Manufacturers) and/or their intermediaries140 (such as their advertisement agencies) with the ping information. Inone embodiment, if the supplier 150 or intermediary 140 wishes to bid onthe advertising opportunity, the supplier 150 or intermediary 140transmits a response to the distribution system 100 that includes anindication of a monetary amount to be paid for each of the ad placementsof interest.

The distribution system 100 stores the one or more indications ofmonetary amounts as initial revenue scores associated with each supplier150 or intermediary 140 who responds to the ping. As has been describedabove, the system manager 300 may modify one or more initial cost scoresand/or one or more initial revenue scores to reflect additional businessconsiderations of the distribution system 100. For example, if thedistribution system 100 is co-owned or otherwise affiliated with one ofthe suppliers 150 or intermediaries 140, an additional businessconsideration may be the fact that the distribution system 100 maybenefit from the profit of the supplier 150 or intermediary 140. Toreflect this consideration, and to cause the scoring module 303 to morefrequently select the affiliated supplier 150 or intermediary 140 to“win” the ad placement, the system manager 300 may modify the relevantrevenue scores upwards. As another example, the content provider 130 mayoffer a rebate to the distribution system 100 after a threshold numberof ad placements are made within a given time period. In this situation,the system 300 may adjust the content provider's 130 cost score to belower than the actual cost, to reflect this benefit and to cause thesystem 100 to more frequently accept offers to place ads received fromthe content provider 130.

The destination selection/scoring module 303 applies the logic, as hasbeen described herein, including any associated blocking rules or otherexclusions, and identifies a set of one or more suppliers 150 and/orintermediaries 140 who are eligible to purchase the ad space and who areassociated with a highest margin score. As has been described earlier,given the same one or more cost scores for the ads, higher revenuescores will generate higher margin scores.

The interface module 301 then informs the content provider 130 whetherthe distribution system 100 wishes to purchase any ad space, and, if so,which placements. In some embodiments, the distribution system 100comprises additional computer-readable storage for storing, for the oneor more suppliers 150 and/or intermediaries 140, electronic versions ofthe ads to be placed or links to web-based copies of the ads to beplaced, which the interface module 301 transmits to the content provider130. In other embodiments, other methods are used for providing the adcontent to the content provider 130, as will be familiar to one ofordinary skill in the art in light of the present disclosure.

In some embodiments, the revenue scores associated with the monetaryvalues offered by the one or more suppliers 150 and/or intermediaries140 are stored by the distribution system 100 for use in placingsubsequent ads. Thus, once a supplier, for example, has offered a givenamount for an ad placement, that amount and associated revenue scorestay in the repository of supplier information 307 until overwritten,such as by a subsequent bid by the supplier 150. The stored revenuescore may be used by the selection/scoring module 303 for subsequent adplacements. Thus, subsequent ad space may continue to be purchased onbehalf of the supplier 150 for the same amount, (assuming that anothersupplier or intermediary does not “out-bid” the supplier in the interim)even if the supplier 150 does not respond to the subsequent pings. Thesupplier 150 may choose to dynamically raise the offered price at anyping. The supplier 150 may request that the revenue score be changed toa very low value if the supplier does not wish additional ad placementsto be made without explicit supplier response.

With this system, suppliers 150 and intermediaries 140 may advertiseonline, using a system 100 that contacts them to offer advertisingopportunities and that allows them to raise or lower their payment biddynamically, effectively placing or removing their ad bid as theychoose, without need to log on to an external website or static softwareplatform of the content provider 130. The suppliers and intermediariesmay respond to some or all of the pings, or may simply respond to whenthey wish to change their offered bid.

Additionally, in some embodiments, the distribution system 100 maydistribute more than one commodity. For example, the multi-leaddistribution system 100, as described herein, may distribute leadsrelated to potential automobile purchases, while also distributingadvertising space on the same web page being served to the consumer 120or on another one.

In such embodiments, the system 100 may use two separate destinationselection/scoring modules 303 or may use a single selection/scoringmodule 303 for identifying candidate destinations for the lead andadvertising space. In some embodiments, the two resolutions are relatedin that when a supplier 150 or destination pairing that is interested inpurchasing the automobile lead and is also interested in purchasingadvertising space on the consumer's web page, the selection/scoringmodule(s) 303 may be configured to have one table-driven resolutionoperation affect the other. For example, the multi-lead distributionsystem 100 may be configured to encourage such a double-purchase bygenerating a reduced cost for one or both of the commodities. The datavalues that populate the tables for each of the opportunities change oneor more values populating the other table, for example, temporarilymodifying a revenue score or adjusting a quality level.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that theabove-described system may be straightforwardly adapted or extended invarious additional ways. While certain embodiments of the invention havebeen described, these embodiments have been presented by way of exampleonly, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form ofthe methods and systems described herein may be made without departingfrom the spirit of the invention. The accompanying claims and theirequivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as wouldfall within the scope and spirit of the invention.

1. An opportunity distribution system that provides a businessopportunity available for purchase to a selected set of one or morebusinesses, the system comprising: a processor in communication withcomputer readable storage that includes: a data repository with storeddata about candidate businesses for the business opportunity, whereinsaid stored data includes a least four different types of data valuesfor each candidate business; and processor readable instructionsconfigured such that, together with the processor, an opportunitydistribution engine is implemented to: populate said data repositorywith additional data values about said candidate businesses, whereinsaid additional data values are derived, at least in part, from saidstored data values; and select, based at least in part on said storeddata values and said additional data values in said data repository, aset of one or more candidate businesses permitted to purchase anopportunity to place an advertisement in each of one or moreadvertisement spaces on a webpage currently being served to a viewer. 2.The opportunity distribution system of claim 1, wherein said processoris further configured to cause one or more advertisements to be placedin one or more of the advertisement spaces on the webpage being servedto the viewer on behalf of the one or more selected businesses.
 3. Theopportunity distribution system of claim 1, wherein a plurality of theone or more advertisement spaces on the webpage is associated with acost that may be different from the cost of at least one otheradvertisement space on the webpage, said opportunity distribution enginebeing configured to use said data repository to select a business foreach of said one or more advertisement spaces in order to obtain apreferred monetary or other business benefit.
 4. An opportunitydistribution system that provides a business opportunity available forpurchase to a selected set of one or more businesses, the systemcomprising: a processor in communication with computer readable storagethat includes: a data repository with stored data about candidatebusinesses for the business opportunity, wherein said stored dataincludes a least four different types of data values for each candidatebusiness; and processor readable instructions configured such that,together with the processor, an opportunity distribution engine isimplemented to: populate said data repository with additional datavalues about said candidate businesses, wherein said additional datavalues are derived, at least in part, from said stored data values; andidentify, based at least in part on said stored data values and saidadditional data values in said data repository, candidate businesses foran opportunity to place an advertisement on a webpage being served to aviewer and configured to identify candidate businesses for a businesslead regarding a consumer interested in making a purchase.
 5. Theopportunity distribution system of claim 4, wherein said opportunitydistribution engine is configured to identify when a candidate businessfor the first opportunity, which is the opportunity to place anadvertisement on the webpage, is also a candidate business for thesecond business opportunity, which is the business lead regarding aconsumer who is potentially interested in making a purchase, theopportunity distribution engine further configured to use the datavalues that populate the data repository for the first opportunity tochange one or more data values that populate the data repository for thesecond opportunity, and/or- to use the data values that populate thedata repository for the second opportunity to change one or more datavalues that populate the data repository for the first opportunity, forselecting the businesses for the first and second businessopportunities.
 6. The opportunity distribution system of claim 5,wherein the one or more data values that are changed affect a marginscore that represents a level of monetary and/or other business benefitfrom providing the first opportunity or the second opportunity, or both,to one of the candidate businesses.
 7. An opportunity distributionsystem that provides a business opportunity available for purchase to aselected set of one or more businesses, the system comprising: aprocessor in communication with computer readable storage storing: adata repository with stored data about candidate businesses for thebusiness opportunity, wherein said stored data includes a least fourdifferent types of data values for each candidate business; andprocessor readable instructions configured such that, together with theprocessor, an opportunity distribution engine is implemented to:populate said data repository with additional data values about saidcandidate businesses, wherein said additional data values are derived,at least in part, from said stored data values; store, over the courseof a selected time period, a historical log of said populated datarepository and said selected set of candidate businesses, in addition toother populated data repositories used to select other sets of candidatebusinesses for other business opportunities during said selected timeperiod; make changes to one or more stored or derived future data valuesused to populate future data repositories in response to a review ofsaid historical log; identify changes to make by re-populating said datarepositories in accordance with said changed future data values,selecting simulated sets of one or more candidate businesses, based, atleast in part on said re-populated tables, and identifying businessbenefit results associated with said selected simulated sets ofcandidate businesses, and change the stored data in accordance withthese results.